Kushner unsound? He’s respected by almost everyone, says his father-in-law president
DONALD TRUMP has come to the defence of his embattled son-in-law Jared Kushner, describing him as a good man doing a “great job”.
Mr Kushner, the 36-year-old husband of Ivanka Trump, has found him- self embroiled in the controversy over the Trump team’s contact with Russia and has been apparently asked to “lay low” until the storm passes.
It was reported last week that Mr Kushner had discussed with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, the possibility of opening up a secret “back channel” to the Kremlin for private discussions. Several Democrats called for his security clearance to be revoked.
Mr Trump issued a statement to The New York Times which, although it did not directly address the allegations, affirmed his confidence in his adviser.
“Jared is doing a great job for the country,” said Mr Trump. “I have total confidence in him. He is respected by virtually everyone and is working on programmes that will save our country billions of dollars. In addition to that, and perhaps more importantly, he is a very good person.”
John Kelly, the homeland security secretary, said it was “normal” and “acceptable” to establish back channels with foreign powers and that “any way that you can communicate with people, particularly organisations that are maybe not particularly friendly to us, is a good thing”.
Mr Kushner is reported to have come under FBI scrutiny in the Russia investigation, with officials telling NBC News that investigators believe he has significant information relevant to their inquiry. He is not suspected of a crime, or expected to face charges.
John Mccain became the first Republican senator to criticise Mr Kushner. He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “I don’t like it, I just don’t. I don’t think it’s standard procedure prior to the inauguration of the president of the United States by someone who is not in an appointed position.”