FBI looks into Kushner’s ties with Russia
NEW YORK // The FBI investigators looking into connections between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian officials are now turning their attention to a series of meetings held by Jared Kusher, the president’s son-inlaw. NBC News and The Washington Post reported that Mr Kushner, a senior White House adviser who is married to Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka, was a focus of the investigation but was not suspected of having commited any crimes. Mr Kushner held meetings with Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Sergey Kislyak, and a banker from Moscow after Mr Trump’s election victory last year. A statement released by his lawyers said he would cooperate with federal investigators.
“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,” the statement said.
Russia’s efforts to influence the outcome of the US presidential election and the fallout continue to dominate American politics.
US intelligence agencies believe Moscow used hackers as part of an effort to swing the outcome in favour of Mr Trump.
Investigators – including the FBI and congressional committees – have launched inquiries to establish whether the Republican businessman’s campaign was complicit. Although no evidence has been found so far, the president and his staff have struggled to explain a string of meetings with Russian officials. Critics accused the White House of launching a cover-up, while Mr Trump has dismissed the investigations as “the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history”.
The latest revelations show the investigations have reached the highest levels of the White House and one of Mr Trump’s most trusted aides.
The Washington Post reported that investigators were looking in particular at a meeting between Mr Kushner and Sergey Gorkov, the head of Vnesheconombank. The bank is owned by the Russian government and has been subject to US sanctions imposed in response to the annexation of Crimea.
Mr Trump’s soft line on Russia during the campaign prompted speculation that he was preparing to ease sanctions.
Further muddying the picture is the fact that Mr Kushner omitted to mention his meetings with Mr Kislyak and Mr Gorkov from White House security clearance forms, according to The New York Times, although his lawyers said that was an oversight and would be corrected. Administration officials said the meetings were routine. Mr Kushner has said he did not discuss sanctions with Mr Gorkov.
FBI agents are also investigating Michael Flynn, who served as national security adviser for 24 days before being fired over undisclosed meetings with Mr Kislyak, and Paul Manafort, former chairman of the Trump campaign.