The FBI seems to be taking a closer look at Jared Kushner in its investigation of possible ties between President Donald Trump’s associates and Russian officials leading up to the 2016 election.
Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law, serves as a senior adviser in the White House. Federal investigators believe Kushner may have “significant information” related to their ongoing inquiry, NBC News reported on Thursday, citing anonymous US officials.
The Washington Post reported last week that a White House staffer close to Trump had caught the attention of investigators.
The Post on Thursday said authorities were looking into a “series of meetings” held by Kushner and Russian operatives in December. Kushner’s meetings with Russia’s ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, and a banker from Moscow gave investigators pause because of the “extent and nature of his interactions” with the Kremlin, The Post reported, citing people familiar with the investigation.
Both The Post and NBC News said Kushner had not been accused of any wrongdoing.
"Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings," Jamie Gorelick, one of his attorneys, said in a statement. "He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry."
Kushner's communications with Kislyak and the banker from Moscow caught the eye of the Senate Intelligence Committee in March. Kislyak reportedly orchestrated a meeting between Kushner and Vnesheconombank CEO Sergey N. Gorkov, who Bloomberg last year reported was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January 2016 as part of a restructuring of the bank's management team.
Kushner remains active in the Trump administration, having just returned from the president's first foreign trip as a head of state this week.
Former Trump associates have also been named in the ongoing investigation, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, whose businesses were subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee this week. Flynn declined to comply with a subpoena for documents related to its investigation, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights in response.
Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.