Senate to question Trump son-in-law over meetings, links with Russians

Jared Kushner faces questions about meetings he arranged with the Russian ambassador in December, including ‘sit-down’ with head of Russia’s state-owned development bank

SENATE INVESTIGATORS plan to question Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a close adviser, as part of their broad inquiry into ties between Trump associates and Russian officials or others linked to the Kremlin, according to administration and congressional officials.

The White House Counsel’s Office was informed this month that the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, wanted to question Kushner about meetings he arranged with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, according to the government officials. The meetings included a previously unreported sit-down with the head of Russia’s state-owned development bank.

Until now, the White House had acknowledged only an early December meeting between Kislyak and Kushner, which occurred at Trump Tower and was also attended by Michael Flynn, who would briefly serve as the national security adviser.

Later, though, Kislyak requested a second meeting, which Kushner asked a deputy to attend in his stead, officials said. At Kislyak’s request, Kushner later met with Sergey N Gorkov, the chief of Vnesheconombank, which drew sanctions from the Obama administration after President Vladimir Putin of Russia annexed Crimea.

A White House spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, confirmed those meetings, saying in an interview that nothing of consequence was discussed and that they went nowhere.

Members of presidential transition teams routinely meet with foreign officials, and there is nothing inherently improper about sitting down with the Russian ambassador. Part of Kushner’s role during the campaign and the transition was to serve as a chief conduit to foreign governments and officials, and Hicks said he met with dozens of officials from a wide range of countries.

The Senate panel’s decision to question Kushner would make him the closest person to Trump to be called for investigation, and the only one currently serving in the White House.

Kislyak’s contacts with Trump administration officials have proved problematic: Flynn was fired for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of the conversations he had with the Russian envoy, claiming he had not discussed the sanctions against Russia when communications intercepts showed he had.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced to recuse himself from any Russian inquiries led by the Justice Department after he failed to disclose at his Senate confirmation hearing that he had met with Kislyak during the campaign.

The meetings Kushner arranged with Kislyak all took place in December, during the transition, Hicks said. Kushner attended the initial meeting with Kislyak to explore whether a channel could be set up between the Russian government and the incoming administration to improve relations between the US and Russia, Hicks said. They also discussed how the United States and Russia could cooperate on issues in the Middle East, an area Kushner has been deputised to take the lead on, she said.

Burr and Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat and the committee’s vice chairman, said in a statement: “Kushner has volunteered to be interviewed as part of the committee’s investigationintotherussianactivitiessurrounding the 2016 election.” NYT