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Kushner called Lockheed Martin to get the Saudis a better deal

J

johnsmith

remember me
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/...w-share&referer=https://t.co/wslwDoJbyG?amp=1


WASHINGTON — On the afternoon of May 1, President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, welcomed a high-level delegation of Saudis to a gilded reception room next door to the White House and delivered a brisk pep talk: “Let’s get this done today.”

Mr. Kushner was referring to a $100 billion-plus arms deal that the administration hoped to seal with Saudi Arabia in time to announce it during Mr. Trump’s visit to the kingdom this weekend. The two sides discussed a shopping list that included planes, ships and precision-guided bombs. Then an American official raised the idea of the Saudis’ buying a sophisticated radar system designed to shoot down ballistic missiles.

Sensing that the cost might be a problem, several administration officials said, Mr. Kushner picked up the phone and called Marillyn A. Hewson — the chief executive of Lockheed Martin, which makes the radar system — and asked her whether she could cut the price. As his guests watched slack-jawed, Ms. Hewson told him she would look into it, officials said.

Mr. Kushner’s personal intervention in the arms sale is further evidence of the Trump White House’s readiness to dispense with custom in favor of informal, hands-on deal making. It also offers a window into how the administration hopes to change America’s position in the Middle East, emphasizing hard power and haggling over traditional diplomacy.

The Trump administration is expected to frame the deal, worth about $110 billion over 10 years, as a symbol of America’s renewed commitment to security in the Persian Gulf. But former officials pointed out that President Barack Obama, whose arms sales to Saudi Arabia totaled $115 billion, had already approved several of the weapons in the package.

“Both sides have an incentive to herald this as a new era in Gulf cooperation,” said Derek H. Chollet, who served as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs under Mr. Obama. “I see this as largely continuity.”

What has changed, Mr. Chollet said, is that the House of Saud is now dealing directly with a member of the Trump family. “It’s quite normal for them to sit down with the son-in-law of a president and do a deal,” he said. “It’s more normal for them than any previous administration.”

The White House and Lockheed declined to comment on the call between Mr. Kushner and Ms. Hewson, or on the broader arms sale.
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I guess now we know who's really the best deal maker
 
S

Slackbladder

Member
Why should Lockheed Martin do what Kushner says at the drop of a hat? Did they drop the price? What were they promised in return? Sounds shady.
 
Silent Chief

Silent Chief

Member
Meanwhile in Canada, honoring past deal to sell para-military gears to Saudi Arabia is a hot issue because of their horrible human right record.
 
A

Ace Harding

Member
I'm imagining Hewson answering the phone, then her jaw dropping before mouthing "what the fuck?" to someone else in the room. Then she collects herself and replies, "uhhh sure Jared, we'll uh, look into it?"
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
AlexFlame116 said:
Wait what's going on here?
Click to expand...

Nothing. Everything is fine. Trump is a super smart guy and both ethical and sane.

Also, Saudi Arabia doesn't export corrosive wahabbiist extremism.

And Kushner is only thinking about the future of middle east peace.
 
B

Beer Monkey

Member
Oddly, Saudi Arabia isn't on their attempted travel ban despite it being home to a plurality of terrorists that have successfully executed deadly attacks on US soil. I wonder why...
 
G

Goldenroad

Member
Just the idea that he's looking out for Saudi interests over an American company is bad enough...but in a deal where they are trying to sell weapons to a country known to help arm terrorists, it would be beyond comprehension if it weren't the trump administration.
 
Yoda

Yoda

Member
Metalingus5150 said:
Is this legal?
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It is, unless they are receiving a % kickback of the difference in price (original vs lowered) and not disclosing it then there are no laws to break. There's nothing theoretically stopping LHM from saying "no" (of course other than the administration making their business a living hell for the next 3 years) but informal passive aggressive corporate politics normally doesn't break any laws.
 
E

Electric Eye

Banned
Right now every American CEO who walked into Trump tower and had private meetings with the president who then had private meetings with Russian agents is probably trying real hard to recall what they said to their attorneys.
 
N

Netherscourge

Banned
Wow...

http://fortune.com/2016/12/13/donald-trump-twitter-lockheed-martin-stock-dump/


Donald J. Trump‏Verified account
@realDonaldTrump The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th.
Click to expand...

So he trashed Lockheed Martin back in December over the F-35 contract, screws their stock price, says they're costing the US billions in bad deals and then has his son-in-law make them take a cut on a sale to Saudi Arabia to help THEM save money?
 
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