Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 28 June 2019

Tillerson says Kushner conducted

foreign policy without him

ample of diplomacy be- pened to be dining in the "No one really described
ing conducted behind his same Washington restau- what he was going to be
back when he was in the rant while Jared Kushner doing," he said. "I just knew
administration, according and Mexican Secretary of what his title was." Tillerson
to a transcript of a con- Foreign Affairs Luis Videga- said there other examples.
gressional hearing released ray had a private meal. He noted that Kushner "met
Thursday. The former top U.S. diplo- often" with Mohammad bin
Tillerson, who was fired by mat and CEO of ExxonMo- Salman, the crown prince
Trump in March 2018, men- bil said he "could see the of Saudi Arabia, and that
In this June 12, 2017, file photo, then-Secretary of State Rex Til- tioned the story during a color go out" of the Mexi- the president's son-in-law
lerson, left, and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner listen day of closed-door testi- can official's face when requested that the secre-
as President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting in mony before the House Tillerson greeted them at tary speak with an official
the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. Foreign Affairs Committee their table with a smile. from the kingdom to dis-
Associated Press
about his rocky, 13-month "And I said: 'I don't want to cuss a document they had
WASHINGTON (AP) — For- encounter with President tenure as secretary of interrupt what y'all are do- been developing that was
mer Secretary of State Rex Donald Trump's son-in-law state. He described his sur- ing,'" Tillerson recalled for "kind of a roadmap" for the
Tillerson cited an awkward in a restaurant as an ex- prise to find that he hap- the committee. "I said 'Give future of the relationship
me a call next time you're between the two countries.
coming to town. And I left The foreign trips raised con-
it at that." cerns, the former secre-
The White House declined tary said, because Kushner
comment on Tillerson's would not coordinate with
depiction of Kushner's ac- the State Department or
tivities, which suggest that the local embassy in the
Trump's top diplomat was in countries he visited. Tiller-
the dark as the new admin- son said he raised the is-
istration was grappling with sue with him but "not much
major foreign policy issues. changed." A committee
Trump had harsh words for member asked about a pri-
his former top diplomat in vate dinner in May 2017 at-
December after Tillerson tended by Kushner, Steve
said in rare public remarks Bannon, bin Salman and
that the president was "un- Prince Mohammed bin
disciplined" and did not Zayed of the United Arab
like to read briefing reports. Emirates in which they dis-
Trump called him "dumb as cussed the plans by Saudi
a rock" in a tweet. Arabia and U.A.E. to block-
Tillerson described the res- ade the neighboring Gulf
taurant incident as an ex- nation of Qatar, which
ample of one of the chal- hosts the headquarters of
lenges he faced as sec- U.S. Central Command, in
retary of state until Trump the coming weeks.
abruptly fired him over so- Tillerson said he didn't know
cial media. about any such dinner but
He said it was a "unique that it would have made
situation" to have the presi- him "angry" if it had oc-
dent's son-in-law as a White curred, since he and oth-
House adviser, saying ers in the administration
"there was not a real clear were caught off guard by
understanding" of Kushner's the blockade a few weeks
role and responsibilities. later.q