Jared Kushner to meet with Senate Intelligence Committee in Russia probe
WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, is expected to meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee in its investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election, as congressional inquiries and a separate FBI investigation into possible ties between Trump associates and Russia officials threaten to engulf the administration.
Kushner volunteered to testify before the Senate committee, panel leaders said in a joint statement Monday, adding that no date has been set for his appearance.
"From the beginning of this investigation, we have committed to follow the facts wherever they lead us,'' committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said. "Mr. Kushner will certainly not be the last person the committee calls to give testimony, but we expect him to be able to provide answers to key questions that have arisen in our inquiry.''
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday that Kushner offered his cooperation to clarify his role as "a conduit'' for foreign leaders during the transition.
"Jared did a job,'' Spicer said. "He was a conduit for leaders'' as the State Department leadership structure was being formed.
The president's top adviser is one of several current and former aides who have been linked to Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in meetings and telephone conversations before and after the November election.
Kislyak's telephone conversations with Michael Flynn before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration led to Flynn's dismissal as national security adviser after less than a month in office. Flynn admitted he had misrepresented to Vice President Pence that he talked to Kislyak about the steps that President Barack Obama took in response to charges that Russia hacked and disseminated emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions also recused himself from the ongoing FBI inquiry after failing to disclose two meetings with Kislyak during the general election season.
The White House also has acknowledged that Kushner, met with Kislyak at Trump Tower in New York last December.
Kushner's role as a witness for the Senate committee was outlined as a parallel investigation by the House Intelligence Committee appeared to be in early turmoil.
Democrats and some Republican lawmakers have called for an independent commission to oversee the inquiry after panel Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has become ensnared in a widening controversy over a secret meeting at the White House complex where he was provided access to intelligence reports that, the chairman said, appeared to capture the communications of an undisclosed number of Trump transition members--and possibly Trump--in surveillance.
A day after reviewing the information on the White House grounds, he returned to the White House to brief Trump on the contents of dozens of intelligence reports before briefing members of his own committee.
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