Jared Kushner says he will cooperate with Russia inquiry after reports he is under scrutiny
Investigators were focused on meetings Kushner held with Russian officials last year as part of inquiry into Russian interference in 2016 election, sources said
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said he would cooperate with any investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia following reports that he is under FBI scrutiny.
Multiple news outlets reported on Thursday that investigators were focused on a series of meetings that Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, held with Russian officials last year as part of the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“Mr Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings,” attorney Jamie Gorelick said in a statement on Thursday. “He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry.”
The Washington Post first reported last week that investigators had identified a current White House official as a significant person of interest, a major development following the news that former FBI director Robert Mueller would be acting as a special counsel to investigate Trump’s connections to Russia.
Press secretary Sean Spicer did not deny the news reports at the time, and on Thursday, the Washington Post and NBC News reported that Kushner was a focus of the FBI’s case, citing anonymous sources familiar with the investigation. The Guardian could not independently confirm the reports.
The naming of Kushner in connection with the FBI’s investigation is significant, though the scope of the inquiry into the husband of the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, is unclear. Kushner has not been accused of wrongdoing and is not the central focus of the investigation, the Post said.
The White House did not comment further on Thursday.
It emerged last year that executives of Vnesheconombank (VEB), a Russian bank, had talks with Kushner. The White House aide also held a meeting with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the US. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned in February after it emerged that he had misled vice-president Mike Pence about the nature of his conversations with Kislyak.
Kushner is currently “being investigated because of the extent and nature of his interactions with the Russians”, the Post reported.
The FBI’s investigation is also reportedly continuing to focus on Flynn and Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who has had extensive business dealings for Russian proxies in Ukraine. Manafort has denied wrongdoing. Flynn is facing subpoenas from the US House and Senate and has refused requests for documents by invoking his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination.
Kushner is in a different category than Manafort and Flynn in the investigation, according to NBC News’ report.
Last month, the New York Times reported that Kushner omitted meeting with Russians on security clearance forms.
Earlier this month, Kushner’s family was forced to apologize for mentioning his name while urging Chinese investors to pour money into a US real estate project, raising concerns about a possible conflict of interest.
Trump recently fired FBI director James Comey, later admitting he was he thinking of “this Russia thing” when he decided to sack him. Trump had also reportedly urged Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn.
