Kushner denies colluding with Russians
Jared Kushner, the son-inlaw of President Donald Trump, defended himself on camera outside the White House against accusations of colluding with Russia. Mr Kushner, who earlier faced questions from a senate committee, denied collusion and insisted that his contact with Russians had been entirely proper.
DONALD TRUMP’S son-in-law Jared Kushner set out yesterday to lift the cloud of suspicion regarding his dealings with Russians, insisting that he had “nothing to hide”, and stating: “I did not collude”.
Mr Kushner, senior adviser to the president, was questioned for more than two hours by staff members from the Senate intelligence committee.
Today he will speak before the House intelligence committee, and be questioned by congressmen.
“All of my actions were proper and occurred in the normal course of events of a very unique campaign,” Mr Kushner said yesterday, speaking at the White House after the hearing.
“Let me be very clear – I did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so. I had no improper contacts.” Mr Kushner looked relaxed as he strolled slowly back into the West Wing of the White House after his statement.
The 36-year-old has found himself in an increasingly uncomfortable spotlight, facing allegations of setting up a “back channel” to the Kremlin through Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, and questions of why he failed to fully disclose all meetings with foreign individuals on his security clearance
‘Donald Trump had a better message and ran a smarter campaign and that is why he won’
form as required by law. He also attended a June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr and a group of Russians including a Kremlin-linked lawyer, a former Soviet spy and several translators, set up in the hope that the Russian lawyer would offer damaging information on Hillary Clinton.
In an 11-page statement released early yesterday, Mr Kushner said he was unaware what the June 2016 meeting was about. He said he arrived late and heard those present talking about adoption, at which point he messaged an assistant asking for an excuse to leave.
He dismissed concerns about his security clearance forms, saying they were submitted in draft form amid the chaos of the presidential transition and moving to Washington DC.
He said that the “back channel” to Moscow was a suggestion for discussing US policy in Syria, although he failed to explain why he preferred a secure line in the Russian embassy, rather than a US government facility. Mr Kushner also dismissed what he saw as an attempt to discredit his father-in-law’s victory.
“Donald Trump had a better message and ran a smarter campaign and that is why he won,” he said. “Suggesting otherwise ridicules those who voted for him.”
Joe Manchin, a Democrat senator for West Virginia, who sits on the intelligence committee, called for the transcript of yesterday’s hearing to be published, while Ron Wyden, a Democrat senator for Oregon, said that Mr Kushner’s statement “raises far more questions than it answers.”
He called for Mr Kushner to testify publicly before the committee, under oath. “Mr Kushner has repeatedly concealed information about his personal finances and meetings with foreign officials,” he said. “There should be no presumption that he is telling the whole truth in this statement.”
Tomorrow Mr Trump Jr, the president’s son, and Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager, will also appear to be questioned about their Russian links.
Mr Kushner portrayed himself as someone who was new to politics when he became a top adviser to his father-in-law’s campaign and was often so frantic fielding phone calls and emails that his recollections of some meetings were somewhat hazy.
He said he had “incoming contacts with people from approximately 15 countries. “I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government,” he said. “I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector.”