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President Donald Trump's son-in-law and utility diplomat, Jared Kushner, shocked a high-level Saudi delegation earlier this month when he personally called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and asked if she would cut the price of a sophisticated missile detection system, according to a source with knowledge of the call. Pressured to finalize a massive $100-plus billion arms deal in the two weeks leading up to Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, Kushner hoped to maneuver a discount on Lockheed's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during the Saudis' visit to the White House on May 1 -- a request that Hewson said she would look into at the time. The New York Times first reported the exchange between Kushner and Hewson. The White House declined to comment for this story.
Ultimately, the two sides were able to reach an agreement on a weapons package that amounts to $110 billion in tanks, fighter jets, combat ships and the THAAD missile defense system, according to the White House. It is unclear how much the Saudis will be paying for THAAD but Trump called it a "billion-dollar system" last month when the US deployed the advanced missile defense radar to South Korea. Trump is expected to officially unveil the deal when he arrives in Saudi Arabia on Saturday -- the first stop in his 10-day trip to the Middle East. Kushner and several of Trump's other top advisers will also make the trip.
Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to US President Donald Trump, listens as Trump delivers remarks to auto industry executives at American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, Michigan
While calling the head of a major defense company and simply asking for a lower price is widely considered an unorthodox negotiation tactic, Kushner's hands-on approach has drawn comparisons to when then-President-elect Trump criticized the stealthy F-35 fighter jet for being too expensive and Hewson gave her "personal commitment" to cut the cost of the program in February. And the details of how the call took place also provide a window into Kushner's role during negotiations with the Saudis and the range of his influence on matters of foreign policy as a whole. During last year's presidential campaign and later during the transition, Kushner was identified by Trump's team as the principal point of contact for foreign governments looking to either congratulate the new US leader or begin diplomatic talks.
The 36-year-old commercial real estate magnate started building a relationship with members of the Saudi royal family shortly after the election, a source told CNN, and was on hand when Trump hosted the deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in March. Issues of foreign diplomacy evolved into an interagency effort once the administration began, according to a source, and Kushner's role in negotiating the arms deal was just one part of an larger effort that included the State Department, Department of Defense and National Security Council. But the scope of Kushner's influence on matters of foreign policy have remained in the spotlight through the early months of Trump's presidency.
CNN reported last month that multiple White House and administration officials said Kushner had eclipsed nearly all of Trump's West Wing and Cabinet advisers in terms of influence and established himself as the key envoy for those outside the administration. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said at the time that Kushner was working jointly with the State Department to manage the administration's foreign affairs. "He's continuing to work with them and facilitate an outcome. But he brings a perspective to this, and began doing that during the transition. But again, it's not a binary choice where he's doing this at the expense of somebody else."
Kushner called Lockheed CEO to get $100B Saudi arms deal done - CNNPolitics.com
The human rights arm of the American Bar Association has sent the Senate a legal analysis saying that President Donald Trump’s plan for an arms deal with Saudi Arabia worth more than $100 billion would be illegal because of the Saudis’ role in the ongoing conflict in Yemen. Citing “multiple credible reports of recurring and highly questionable [air]strikes’’ by the Saudi military that have killed civilians, the U.S. “cannot continue to rely on Saudi assurances that it will comply with international law and agreements concerning the use of U.S.-origin equipment,” Michael Newton, a prominent Vanderbilt University law professor and former military judge advocate general, said.
Newton, in his 23-page opinion, said the strikes have continued “even after Saudi units received training and equipment to reduce civilian casualties.” “Continued sale of arms to Saudi Arabia ― and specifically of arms used in airstrikes ― should not be presumed to be permissible” under the two statutes covering most sales of military equipment by the U.S government to foreign nations, he said. The letter comes ahead of Trump’s weekend visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the president is to announce the new arms deal. On Friday, the Associated Press reported the package is expected to cover $110 billion in sales of ships, tanks, missile batteries and missile defense technology over 10 years.
Though the Obama administration committed to many elements of the package before Trump’s inauguration, the president is expected to present it as a major accomplishment. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a White House aide, has built a rapport with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and personally intervened with weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin to get the Saudis a better deal, The New York Times reported. The bar association’s Center for Human Rights requested the assessment after receiving several congressional inquiries about the legality of continued sales to the Saudis. Senators skeptical of the Saudi campaign in Yemen unsuccessfully tried to block a $1.15 billion arms transfer last fall. The legal analysis suggests that they should try again.
A U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition of countries has been at war in Yemen for over two years, fighting Iran-backed militants who have taken over much of the country. The coalition has been repeatedly accused of war-crime violations for its role in the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Arab world’s poorest country. The United Nations has reported nearly 5,000 deaths have occurred, and said the actual toll is likely far higher. U.N. experts have repeatedly singled out coalition airstrikes, which are supported by American aerial refueling, as the single largest cause of civilian casualties during various periods in the conflict. Meanwhile, naval blockades by the coalition and interference in aid deliveries by the pro-Iran militants have caused a major humanitarian crisis: 19 million Yemenis are in need of aid, according to the U.N., and a famine may soon be declared.
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