Why did Kushner not mention his rejection of May 2016 offer from bank head Alexander Torshin?

Developments on Day 302 of the Trump Administration:

Deputy Governor of Russian Central Bank Proposed Trump-Putin Meeting

Among the e-mails withheld from Senators by Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner was a May 2016 proposal by a senior Russian official of a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, according to “several people familiar with the matter”.

With the subject line “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite”, an e-mail to Trump campaign staff passed on the offer from Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank, who claimed to be acting at the behest of Putin.

The proposal reached the senior levels of the Trump campaign before Kushner sent a message to top campaign officials rejecting it.

The offer from Torshin, who has been linked to Russian security services and organized crime, came weeks after Trump’s “foreign policy advisor” George Papadopoulos proposed efforts for a Trump-Putin encounter. Papadopoulos, who had been in contact with a London-based Maltese academic with links to Russian officials, told a March 31 meeting of Trump’s national security team of the initiative. Two weeks later, the academic offered information from the Russians, from “thousands of e-mails”, which would damage Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Trump-Putin meeting never occurred, but in early June Donald Trump Jr., Kushner, and campaign manager Paul Manafort received three Kremlin-linked envoys who had promised anti-Clinton material.

On Thursday, the ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter of Kushner calling on him to hand over e-mails including the “backdoor overture” message. Kushner’s lawyer Abbe Lowell insisted yesterday that his client had responded: “Again, this was not any contact, call or meeting in which Mr. Kushner was involved. He is forwarded this long chain later on.”

See TrumpWatch, Day 301: Kushner Pressed Over E-mails About “Russian Backdoor Overture”

Torshin’s proposal is set out in a May 2016 e-mail from Rick Clay, an advocate for conservative Christian causes, to Trump campaign aide Rick Dearborn. Clay said a dinner in Kentucky honoring wounded veterans would be an opportunity for Trump to meet the Russian.

Torshin served in the upper house of the Russian Parliament and also sat on the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, which includes the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the ministers of defense, interior, and foreign affairs.

Spanish investigators claim Torshin laundered money for Russian organized crime through Spanish banks and properties while he was in Parliament.

Dearborn forwarded the e-mail to Paul Manafort, Manafort’s top aide Rick Gates, and Kushner. Trump’s son-in-law said, “Pass on this. Most likely these people then go back home and claim they have special access to gain importance for themselves. Be careful.”

Clay said Dearborn sent him a response rejecting the idea.

However, both Donald Trump Jr. and Torshin attended the National Rifle Association dinner in Louisville. It is unclear if the two men made contact.

Trump Abruptly Reverses Elephant Trophy Decision

Donald Trump suddenly reverses his administration’s decision to lift a ban on the import of elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia.

A day after the decision was announced by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and hours after it was posted in the Federal Register, Trump tweeted that he would consult with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke:

The Fish and Wildlife Service had argued that the lifting of the 2014 ban would allow the two African countries to include US sport hunting as part of their management plans for elephants and allow them to put “much-needed revenue back into conservation”.

However, critics noted that Trump’s sons Donald Jr. and Eric are big game hunters. They have proudly posed with their trophies, including a photograph of Donald Jr. with an elephant tail from a 2011 hunt in Zimbabwe.

Interior Secretary Zinke said yesterday:

President Trump and I have talked and both believe that conservation and healthy herds are critical. As a result, in a manner compliant with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, the issuing of permits is being put on hold as the decision is being reviewed.