Kushner in the crosshairs

Democrats question Trump son-in-law’s Russian ties

WASHINGTON: Congressional Democrats have demanded to hear directly from top White House adviser Jared Kushner over allegations of proposed secret back-channel communications with Russia, saying the security clearance of President Donald Trump’s son-inlaw may need to be revoked.

Trump, having returned from a nine-day overseas trip, immediately railed against administration leaks, calling them “fabricated lies” in a flurry of tweets.

His Homeland Security head defended the idea of establishing that kind of communication as a “smart thing” and said he did not see “any big issue here” for Kushner.

But to the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, it was “obviously very concerning” that a key Trump campaign figure was possibly seeking secret communications with a country that intelli- gence experts say intervened in the 2016 election.

Rep Adam Schiff of California said the government needed to “get to the bottom” of the matter and urged a review of Kushner’s security clearance “to find out whether he was truthful”.

“If not, then there’s no way he can maintain that kind of a clearance,” Schiff said.

The Associated Press and other news organisations reported that Kushner in December proposed a back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team.

Kushner spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about facilitating sensitive discussions to explore the incoming administration’s options with Russia as it developed its Syria policy.

The intent was to connect Trump’s chief national security adviser at the time, Michael Flynn, with Russian military leaders, a person familiar with the discussions said.

Russia, a pivotal player in Syria, has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, often at the expense of civilians and at odds with US policy during Syria’s long civil war.

The White House did not acknowledge the meeting or Kushner’s attendance until March. At the time, a White House official dismissed it as a brief courtesy meeting.

Lawyers for Kushner said he was willing to talk with federal and congressional investigators about his foreign contacts and his work on the Trump campaign.

The disclosure of the back channel put the White House on the defensive.

Just back from visiting the Middle East and Europe, Trump on Sunday dismissed recent reports as “fake news”.

“It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies,” Trump tweeted.

He added: “Whenever you see the words ‘sources say’ in the fake news media, and they don’t mention names ... it is very possible that those sources don’t exist.” — AP

It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies.

Donald Trump