White House Sources: John Kerry’s Stealth Lobbying Backfired, Helped Kill The Iran Deal

The DC ^ | 5-8-2018 | Benny Johnson

[servo1969]

News of former Secretary of State John Kerry's alleged collusion with the Iranian government played a role in President Donald Trump's decision to scuttle the Iran deal, two White House sources with direct knowledge of the president's thinking tell The Daily Caller.

Trump announced he was pulling out of the deal Tuesday, just a few days after news broke that Kerry had been parlaying with Iran in an attempt to keep the deal alive.

A source inside the White House with knowledge of the decision process tells TheDC that the Iran deal was "done" when Trump found out about Kerry's lobbying behind the scenes. "Trump was headed that way but Kerry just took away any of the teeth of the detractors," the source said on background. "[Kerry's] bulls**t ultimately killed the deal."

Another source inside the West Wing confirms to TheDC that there was a frantic last-minute lobbying effort to keep the deal in place and that the timing of the Kerry news was "ironic." The source specifically blames Kerry's meddling in the process as a key decision point in the calculus for pulling out of the deal.

"It was by no means the reason [Trump] decided to pull out, but it certainly influenced the final decision," the source continued. "I mean, read the tweets."

President Trump attacked Kerry's actions on Twitter Monday, saying, "The United States does not need John Kerry's possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!"

Trump followed up, saying, "John Kerry can't get over the fact that he had his chance and blew it! Stay away from negotiations John, you are hurting your country!"

Both sources confirm that Kerry's actions hurt the lobbying effort by some in the West Wing to keep the deal in place.

The decision marks another crippling blow to Barack Obama's legacy by the Trump administration. The Iran deal was the cornerstone of Obama's foreign policy.

It was revealed late last week that Team Obama was working furiously to keep their legacy accomplishment afloat. Kerry was revealed to be actively working with his Iranian counterparts to salvage the Iran nuclear deal and undermine the current administration in a report published by The Boston Globe Friday.

According to The Globe, Kerry met with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif multiple times over the last few months. He also reportedly met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French President Emmanuel Macron and multiple members of Congress.

A Kerry spokesperson told Fox News, "Secretary Kerry stays in touch with his former counterparts around the world," and that he was working to make sure the tenants of the Iran deal "remain effective."

The report comes as the Trump administration is under intense scrutiny for allegations that the president's campaign colluded with Russia to swing the 2016 election. No evidence has yet been presented to support that claim.

Some legal scholars say Kerry's actions were a clear violation of the Logan Act.

The Logan Act states:

"Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."

The Boston Herald has called for a full investigation into Kerry's actions.

Kerry defended his stance by posting a statement on Twitter Tuesday. He complained that Trump's decision "weakens our security" and "isolates us from our European allies and puts Israel at greater risk."

[servo1969]

Bloomberg/Al Drago

[yldstrk]

John Kerry is blind and a loser

[Vaquero]

Arrest Kerry. He broke the law. The Logan act. Put him in prison

[lurk]

Who sent Kerry to do this? This seems seditious.

[Chode]

hey, over here... over here... hey look at me... i'm over here, look at me, Look at me-Me-ME-ME!!! ... I'm over HERE!!!

[Russ]

Kerry has been a traitor to this country for 50 years.

[mewzilla]

Who sent Kerry to do this?

Convene a grand jury and subpoena that expletive-deleted.

This seems seditious.

It IS seditious.

[Gen.Blather]

If you back off to an orbital view, who has the power to keep or kill the Iran deal? Is it Iran? No. It is President Trump. So, how effective could anything Kerry did with the Iranians be in keeping the deal in place? Zero.

If Kerry wanted to lobby for the deal his options were, ask to speak with Trump. Lobby influential people who have access to Trump. Go public with why the deal was good for the American people.

I think he chose to do none of those because he can’t have any illusion that Trump respects him. Influential people who have access to Trump probably won’t be convinced. And, there as nothing good about the deal for the American people. The only option left was diddling with the Iranians, which may have made him feel important, but was ineffective.

[MUDDOG]

a clear violation of the Logan Act

John fought the Trump, and the Trump won.

[McGruff]

[niteowl77]

Who sent Kerry to do this? This seems seditious.

Fly Kerry here, fly McCain there, fly Obama and Clinton everywhere... pretty soon we are talking about some serious "seditioning" going on.

Be a shame if the US pulled some (cough) random (cough) passports because of security concerns. On a temporary basis, of course...

[Sir_Humphrey]

The Logan act has never been enforced and most likely is unconstitutional.

Kerry broke no law other than being a pompous AH

[griswold3]

To be legit the Iranian Deal should have been ratified by Congress.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

God Bless POTUS Trump! Put this miserable, conniving traitor in his place.

“John Kerry can’t get over the fact that he had his chance and blew it! Stay away from negotiations John, you are hurting your country!”

IOW, back off, a-hole! Plain speak, no mamba-pamby bed wetting politico-speak.

[Alas Babylon!]

Can I get me a diplomacy license here?

[McCarthysGhost]

Kerry was giving them his best advice on how to screw America. I noticed The President warned that he doesn’t make empty threats. That was probably is response to something Kerry told the Iranians.

[DoodleDawg]

I’m not buying it. Trump was going to end the deal regardless of who was trying to salvage it. The idea that he was on the fence until Kerry stuck his nose in is ludicrous.

[Dana1960]

The only thing Kerry ever got right was finding rich broads to finance his nonsense and duplicity.

I hope he goes via the McCain route.

[N. Theknow]

The Iran deal was the cornerstone of Obama's foreign policy.

This is BS. The Iran deal was the cornerstone of Iranian-born Valerie Jarrett pulling Obama's puppet strings in an effort to elevate her native country to a nuclear power and further damage the USA.

Obama's foreign policy was apologizing and kissing the asses of the rest of the world and weakening our respect and standing in the world.

[Avalon Memories]

Just because a law has never been enforced does not mean it is invalid. I’m not even sure why it would be unconstitutional although that also has never been tested. So the law is on the books and Kerry broke it. He might never be held to account for it, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a treasonous bastard.