Jared denies any Russian collusion
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner vehemently denied Monday ever having “improper contacts” with Russian officials — and said his father-inlaw defeated Hillary Clinton because he had a “better message” and “ran a smarter campaign.” “Let me be very clear: I did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so,” Kushner said in a rare public appearance outside the White House after a nearly threehour closed-door meeting with the Senate intelligence committee.
“I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds for my businesses. And I have been fully transparent in providing all requested information.”
Just after the meeting, a smiling Kushner told reporters that he answered all questions asked and it went “very well.”
On Tuesday, he’ll face a grilling from House investigators who are leading their own investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Kushner chalked up President Trump’s election victory to the way he ran his campaign, not Russian influence.
“Donald Trump had a better message and ran a smarter campaign and that is why he won,” the former real-estate developer said.
“Suggesting otherwise ridicules those who voted for him.”
Ahead of his testimony to Senate staffers, which was not made under oath, Kushner released an 11-page statement, in which he outlined four meetings with Russian representatives during the campaign and transition period.
As for the controversial June 2016 meeting with Russian-American attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya — which was arranged by his brother-in-law, Donald Trump Jr. — Kushner said that it was a “waste of time” and that he tried to leave after 10 minutes.
“When I got there, the person who has since been identified as a Russian attorney was talking about the issue of a ban on US adoptions of Russian children,” he said, adding that he had arrived late to the sit-down.
“Reviewing e-mails recently confirmed my memory that the meeting was a waste of our time and that, in looking for a polite way to leave and get back to my work, I actually e-mailed an assistant from the meeting after I had been there for 10 or so minutes and wrote, ‘ Can u pls call me on my cell? Need excuse to get out of meeting.’ ”
Kushner also recalled a meeting with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower in December 2016, saying they discussed the Syrian confict and the desire to improve US-Russian relations. “I did not suggest an ongoing secret form of communication for then or for when the administration took office,” he said.
“I did not raise the possibility of using the embassy or any other Russian facility for any purpose other than this one possible conversation in the transition period.”
Kushner also met with Russian banker Sergey Gorkov on Dec. 13 but “no specific policies were discussed,” he said.