Is Bolton a ‘Trump Whisperer’ Deployed by London?

July 9, 2109 (EIRNS)—Politico’s Playbook provides links to lists of attendees at various British Embassy receptions and dinners in Washington over the past two years, with attention to members of the Trump Administration who hobnobbed at them. While those listings do not tell us much, the following item within that column calls attention to a report in the Washington Post on British Ambassador Sir Kim Darroch’s relations with National Security Adviser John Bolton, is more substantial:

“Darroch himself frequently meets with National Security Adviser John Bolton and had early-morning breakfast meetings with John Kelly, then the former Chief of Staff, according to people familiar with the matter who, like others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity. He has been key in working with Trump’s aides behind the scenes to arrange visits to Britain in a way that would avoid angering the President, White House and embassy officials say.”

The Washington Post story itself writes of a “coterie—including Kellyanne Conway, Stephen Miller, Mick Mulvaney, Sarah Sanders and Trump ally Chris Ruddy” who have been guests for private dinners with the British Ambassador, “where they share about the President and his decision-making.”

Early on in Trump’s first term, Sir Kim described his strategy as “flooding the zone” around the U.S. President in order to control all channels of advice. His memo to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office after President Trump’s state visit with the Queen in June 2019, reported with glee that key members of Trump’s team who accompanied him had been “dazzled” by the official visit to London. “These are close contacts, with whom we have spent years building relationships: they are the gate keepers and the ‘Trump Whisperers’—the individuals we rely upon to ensure the U.K. voice is being heard in the West Wing,” he boasted.