Jared Kushner and Russia
The saga between Russia and Trump’s administrators continues, this time with a focus on Jared Kushner and his meetings with Russian officials. This line of investigation is part of the ongoing Russian probe into the possibility of Russian interference with the 2016 election.
Last December, Kushner had a clandestine meeting with Russian banker Sergey Gorkov. The exact nature of this meeting still remains unknown, but regardless of the contents of the meeting, it should not have been private. Many are concerned that these meetings are related to the Russian bank, and while dealings with Russian banks is not illegal, it further illustrates the deep ties between Trump and Russia. It is crucial to know just how much money he has tied up with Russia and the motivations behind certain actions he has taken regarding Russia. The New York Times reported that Kushner failed to mention in security-clearance forms that he had met with Gorkov, though Kushner’s attorney claimed it was an error that would be amended soon.
Contact between government and foreign officials, though not uncommon, has raised eyebrows due to the fact these meetings were not made public.
So far no date has been set for Kushner to testify before the House and Senate Intelligence committees. FBI agents are still focused on former security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in the investigation, though Kushner is the only current known White House official to be a key focus in the investigation.
Robert S. Mueller, former FBI director, is now leading the probe investigating ties between the Kremlin and Trump campaign in place of former FBI director James Comey, who was recently fired by President Trump. The Justice Department ethics experts recently cleared him to lead the probe, despite the fact that lawyers from his former law firm represent multiple people that could be caught up int he investigation, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Muller has resigned from the law firm in order to head the investigation.