Now, one day later and with the latest Kushner story published, the WaPo has also chimed in on the alleged “war room<\/a>” story with some additional details. While the gist of the story is the same, and is a recap of what is already known, including:<\/p>\n … what is new is the following detail on the potential future role of Jared Kushner – or lack thereof – who has emerged as the alleged focal point of the FBI’s probe into the White House. Here is what the WaPo reported on Saturday:<\/p>\n Some White House aides have discreetly discussed among one another whether Kushner should play a lesser role \u2014 or even take a leave <\/strong>\u2014 at least until the Russia-related issues calm, but they have been reluctant to discuss that view with Kushner himself, and Kushner\u2019s network of allies within the West Wing has rallied behind him.<\/p>\n Those close to Kushner said he has no plans to take a reduced role, though people who have spoken to him say that he is increasingly weary of the nonstop frenzy<\/strong>. In recent weeks, the White House also brought on Josh Raffel as a spokesman to handle many of the issues in Kushner\u2019s sweeping portfolio; Raffel works out of a shared office in the West Wing, although he also has space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As for Priebus, he may be going to Greece:<\/p>\n Underscoring the uncertainty of what lies ahead, some Trump associates said there have been conversations about dispatching Priebus to serve as ambassador to Greece \u2014 his mother is of Greek descent \u2014 as a face-saving way to remove him from the White House. A White House spokeswoman strongly denied that possibility Saturday.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Still, as with most such pieces, the admission roughly halfway through the report is that the underlying premise is merely speculation… except perhaps for Sean Spicer:<\/p>\n Though no final decisions have been made, one option being discussed is having Spicer \u2014 who has been parodied on NBC\u2019s \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d to devastating effect \u2014 take a more behind-the-scenes role and give up his daily, on-camera briefings. On Trump\u2019s foreign tour, Spicer conducted only one briefing, an informal gaggle with the small, traveling press pool. Otherwise, he served more as an emcee, introducing other senior administration officials at more formal briefings.<\/p>\n On Saturday, it was Gary Cohn, the National Economic Council director, and McMaster who headlined the U.S. news conference at the conclusion of the Group of Seven summit in Taormina, Italy. Spicer introduced them and then retired to the corner of the room to watch McMaster and Cohn parry questions from journalists.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another new detail: Trump’s inspiration for a “war room” comes from Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n Conversations about what some are calling a \u201cwar room\u201d have focused on a model similar to what emerged during President Bill Clinton\u2019s tenure to cope with the Monica Lewinsky scandal and other crises. Clinton pulled together a team of lawyers and communication and political aides to deal with those issues apart from the regular White House structure, with the aim of letting other business proceed as normally as possible.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Even so, Trump aides say they have come to the realization that “unflattering stories about Russia will be part of the daily conversation for the foreseeable future and acknowledge that the White House has been ill-equipped to handle them.”<\/p>\n The above may Which may explain the deployment of a third aircraft carrier toward North Korea. As a reminder, the “Russia” stories came to screeching halt the day after Trump launched a ballistic missile attack on Syria, only to return with a vengeance after Trump fired FBI Director Comey as a new tide of “sources” emerged.<\/p>\n And speaking of sources, one of the handful of people actually quoted on the record in today’s extensive WaPo piece said something that few can disagree with: \u201cHe was given the chance to look presidential and change the pictures on our television screens,\u201d said Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at New York University. \u201cBut it will be harder for him to manage news back at home than abroad. \u2026 The worries he had when he left have not gone away. They\u2019ve only gotten worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, which is why going back to Jared Kushner, the NYT separately reported <\/a>on Saturday that Kushner “has told friends that he and his wife have made no long-term commitment to remain by Mr. Trump\u2019s side, saying they would review every six months whether to return to private life in New York.<\/strong>”<\/p>\n Yet like the WaPo, NYT quotes sources close to the president\u2019s son-in-law as saying that Kushner has no plans to step down from his role as a senior White House adviser. In fact, CNN indicated Kushner \u201cwas not going anywhere.” He would continue to \u201cfocus on his work\u201d and is \u201ceager to cooperate with inquiries,” according to reporter Jim Acosta<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Kushner’s fate remains unclear, a parallel question is if Trump’s son-in-law decides (or is forced to) to depart the White House to take away the heat from Trump, whether Steve Bannon who was largely sidelined as a result of the growing influence of the Kushner\/Goldman wing, will make a big return as Trump’s core advisor. With Trump back in the country after a one week hiatus, we expect many of the questions to be resolved shortly.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/user5\/imageroot\/2017\/05\/12\/trump%20war%20room_0.jpg\")
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