Kushner ready to talk to FBI: lawyer

WASHINGTON (AP) — If the FBI wants to talk to Jared Kushner about his Russian contacts, they won’t have to track down the president’s son-in-law.

Amid reports the FBI is scrutinizing Kushner’s encounters, his lawyer says he stands ready to talk to federal investigators as well as Congress about his contacts and his role in Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Federal investigators and several congressional committees are looking into RussiaTrump campaign connections, including allegations there may have been collaboration to help Trump and harm his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

“The FBI tries to be thorough in their investigations,” said defence lawyer Edward MacMahon, who is not involved in the case. “If it’s been publicly reported that he met with Russians, and the investigation has to do with administration officials meeting with Russians, well, then, they’ll probably want to talk to everybody.”

Kushner was a trusted Trump adviser last year, overseeing the campaign’s digital strategy, and remains an influential confidant within the White House.

One likely area of interest for investigators would be Kushner’s own meetings with Russians, given that such encounters with a variety of Trump associates are at the root of the sprawling probe, now overseen by former FBI director Robert Mueller.

The White House in March confirmed that Kushner and Michael Flynn, the ousted national security adviser, met with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, at Trump Tower in December for what one official called a brief courtesy meeting.

Flynn was pushed out of the White House in February after officials said he misled Vice-President Mike Pence about whether he and the ambassador had discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia in a phone call.

Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, told Congress this month the deception left Flynn vulnerable to being blackmailed by the Russians. Flynn remains under investigation over his foreign business ties and was interviewed by the FBI in January about his contacts with Kislyak.