USA - Modern-day piracy': German official says US swooped on masks at airport

The United States diverted a delivery of Chinese-made face masks bound for Germany at a Bangkok airport, a Berlin city official said Friday, accusing Washington of "modern-day piracy" as competition for protective gear against the coronavirus heats up.

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https://www.thelocal.de/20200403/german-official-says-us-swooped-on-masks-at-bangkok-airport-coronavirus

USA: Putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank: Trump gets help from Kushner and rails against new 'witch-hunt' at coronavirus briefing

Donald Trump sparked fresh criticism on Thursday by deploying his son-in-law Jared Kushner at a White House coronavirus taskforce briefing and accusing Democrats of launching a fresh “witch-hunt”.

Kushner, a senior adviser to the US president who is married to his daughter Ivanka, made a surprise appearance on the podium and said Trump had instructed him to “break down every barrier needed to make sure the teams can succeed”.

Kushner added: “The president also wanted us to make sure that we think outside the box, make sure we’re finding all the best thinkers in the country, making sure we’re getting all the best ideas.”

But by way of example, Kushner said Trump became concerned about supply shortages after hearing about them “just this morning” from “friends of his in New York” – implying the president responds to anecdotes rather than the state governor or public health officials.

“We went to the president today,” Kushner continued. “And earlier today, the president called Mayor [Bill] de Blasio to inform him that we are going to send a month of supply to New York public hospital system.”

The vice-president, Mike Pence, later said there would be 200,000 masks sent to New York.

Kushner said: “We’ll be doing similar things with all the different public hospitals that are in the hotspot zones and making sure that we’re constantly in communications with the local communities.”

Media reports have suggested that Kushner, a property developer with no medical expertise, is running a “shadow taskforce” – a rival power base that conflicts with the official task force led by Pence.

Read more at: Trump gets help from Kushner and rails against new 'witch-hunt' at coronavirus briefing | World news | The Guardian

USA: Are Trump family members endangering US Security ? : Kushner’s overseas contacts raise concerns as foreign officials seek leverage - by Shane Harris, Carol D. Leonnig, Greg Jaffe and Josh Dawsey

Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.

Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico, the current and former officials said.

It is unclear if any of those countries acted on the discussions, but Kushner’s contacts with certain foreign government officials have raised concerns inside the White House and are a reason he has been unable to obtain a permanent security clearance, the officials said.

Kushner’s interim security clearance was downgraded last week from the top-secret to the secret level, which should restrict the regular access he has had to highly classified information, according to administration officials.

Read more: Kushner’s overseas contacts raise concerns as foreign officials seek leverage - The Washington Post