The Citizen (KZN)

Trump’s family under scrutiny

- Washington

– President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a senior White House advisor, is under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigat­ion (FBI) in the Russia probe, the Washington Post and NBC News reported.

Kushner is being investigat­ed because of his meetings in December and other possible interactio­ns with the Russian ambassador and a banker from Moscow, the Post reported, citing people familiar with the investigat­ion.

Kushner is the only current White House official known to be considered a key person in the probe, the newspaper reported.

The FBI, several congressio­nal committees and a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department are looking into allegation­s of meddling by Russia in the 2016 US election and possible ties between Trump’s presidenti­al campaign and Russian officials seeking to influence the election.

The controvers­y has engulfed Trump’s administra­tion since he fired FBI director James Comey this month. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegation­s and Trump denies any collusion with Russia.

The interest in Kushner does not mean investigat­ors suspect him of a crime, the officials told NBC News.

It is not known whether Kushner has received any requests from the FBI for records, NBC News said.

One of Kushner’s attorneys, Jamie Gorelick, said in a statement her client would cooperate with the investigat­ion.

“Mr Kushner previously volunteere­d to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry,” Gorelick said.

The FBI and the White House did not immediatel­y respond to a request for comment.

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