NEW: President Trump's son-in-law often held talks with Saudi Arabia's crown prince and other foreign government officials without briefing or informing senior US diplomats about his discussions, former Sec. Tillerson told lawmakers in testimony.
at a closed-door hearing with the House Foreign Affairs Committee last month and the transcript was released to NBC News and other media Thursday., said he was sometimes caught off guard by Kushner's talks with foreign officials. In one case, Tillerson said he was dining at a restaurant in Washington when the owner of the restaurant told him Mexico's foreign minister was seated at another table.
"And he was rather shocked to find out that when he started telling me all these things that were news to me, I told him this is the first time I'm hearing of it." "What's your reaction to a meeting of that sort having taken place without your knowledge?" the lawyer asked Tillerson. Tillerson said he was blindsided by President Trump's tweet that praised the blockade on Qatar, and that he and Kushner disagreed about the issue.
Tillerson said Kushner would sometimes organize his travel abroad without consulting the local embassy. He said there wasn't"a real clear understanding of the role, responsibilities, authorities, and whatnot, which made it challenging for everyone, I think, in terms of how to deal with any activities that might be undertaken by others that were not defined within the national security process itself."
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