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Tuesday, April 16, 2024 | Back issues
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Lawyer Says Kushner Willing to Cooperate With Russia Probe

A lawyer for Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, said Thursday night that his client is willing to cooperate with federal investigators looking into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

(CN) — A lawyer for Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, said Thursday night that his client is willing to cooperate with federal investigators looking into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Kushner is currently traveling with the president in Europe. Attorney Jamie Gorelick issued the statement on his behalf amid reports the FBI is investigating meetings Kushner had with Russian officials in December.

"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," Gorelick said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Thursday asked the FBI to turn over more documents about former Director James Comey's interactions with the White House and Justice Department, including materials dating back nearly four years to the Obama administration.

The FBI and the oversight committee — as well as several other congressional panels — are looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.

The president fired Comey on May 9. The FBI's investigation is now being overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director.

Kushner, a key White House adviser, had meetings late last year with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, and Russian banker Sergey Gorkov.

He omitted the meetings with Kislyak and Gorkov on  security clearance forms filed as the Trump administration began to take shape in December, but the omission was a simple error, his attorney said.

The Washington Post, which broke the story of the FBI's interest in Kushner, said that while he is a "person of interest" in the investigation, that does not mean that he is suspected of a crime.

As for Chaffetz, his request was made in the form of a letter to acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. He said he wants records of Comey's contacts with the White House and Justice Department dating to September 2013, when Comey was sworn in as FBI director under President Barack Obama.

In the letter, Chaffetz said he is seeking to review Comey's memos and other written materials so he can "better understand" Comey's communications with the White House and attorney general's office.

Chaffetz previously requested Comey's recent memos about his private contacts with Trump. But the bureau told him Thursday it could not yet turn them over because of Mueller's probe.

Categories / Government, National, Politics

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