Kushner quizzed on Russian role
WASHINGTON — The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee are saying President Donald Trump’s son-in-law hasn’t been fully forthcoming with the panel’s probe into Russian election interference, asking him to provide emails sent to him involving WikiLeaks and a “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein sent a letter to Jared Kushner’s lawyer Thursday saying the collection of documents he has provided the committee is “incomplete.” The committee gave Kushner a Nov. 27 deadline to provide the additional documents, including the emails and Kushner’s security clearance form that originally omitted certain contacts with Russian officials.
The request is part of the panel’s probe into the Russian election meddling and whether the Trump campaign was involved. The Judiciary committee is one of three congressional committees looking into the issue, along with the Senate and House intelligence panels. The committees have separately requested and received thousands of documents from people associated with the Trump campaign, and have interviewed dozens of individuals. Department of Justice special counsel Robert Mueller is also looking into the meddling.
The senators noted they have received documents from other campaign officials that were copied to or forwarded to Kushner, but which he did not produce. Those include “September 2016 email communications to Mr. Kushner concerning WikiLeaks.” Trump’s eldest son, Trump Jr., corresponded with WikiLeaks that month and, according to The Atlantic, sent an email to several Trump campaign advisers to tell them about it.
Grassley, R-Iowa, and Feinstein, D-Calif., wrote that other parties have produced documents concerning a “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite” that Kushner forwarded but has not given to the committee. It is unclear what overture and dinner invite they are referring to.
