The whispers were there for months. Rex Tillerson constantly seemed as though he was this close to being ousted as Secretary of State. Now, Tillerson is saying he knows who did the whispering
In a new in-depth New Yorker feature, writer Ronan Farrow — citing multiple unnamed sources who heard Tillerson speak in private — says that Tillerson believes Jared Kushner was the man behind the leaks which proved to be his undoing.
From Farrow’s report:
When I mentioned the White House’s role in escalating rumors of his demise, Tillerson appeared to have been waiting for the question. “Mm-hmm,” he said, nodding. “When you say ‘the White House,’ who are you talking about?” he asked. “The White House is comprised of how many people?” Hook, the director of policy planning, chimed in that the answer was perhaps in the thousands. Tillerson waved him off. “But people that matter, people that might have an interest in whether I stay or leave, there’s about one hundred and sixty of them.” Tillerson leaned in and, for a moment, I realized that it
must be unpleasant to be fired by him. “I know who it is. I know who it is. And they know I know.”According to multiple individuals who had heard Tillerson speak of the matter behind closed doors, this was a reference to Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner.
Farrow reports that tensions between Tillerson and Kushner flared “regularly”. The Secretary of State was reportedly less than pleased that Kushner was tasked with brokering a Middle East peace deal — although Tillerson denied this in an on-the-record interview with Farrow.
[phota via Getty Images]
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