Jared Kushner failed to disclose meetings with Russia’s ambassador and the head of a Russian state-owned bank when he sought security clearance for his White House job.
Kushner’s lawyer Jamie Gorelick told the New York Times the omission was “an error.” National security officials who fail to disclose contacts with foreign government officials in an F.B.I. questionnaire can lose their security clearance, but they are often allowed to submit supplemental information.
Kushner’s contacts with Russia matter because the FBI is currently investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Kushner [TRDataCustom] formally left his family real estate firm in January to become a senior adviser to Donald Trump. The meetings with ambassador Sergey Kislyak and Sergey Gorkov, the head of Vnesheconombank, took place in December. Vnesheconombank has been under sanctions in the U.S. and in Europe.
Kushner claims he did not discuss sanctions in place against certain Russian individuals and financial institutions, including Vnesheconombank, with Gorkov. A senate investigations committee said late last month it plans to question Kushner over whether he sought financing for 666 Fifth during his meeting with Gorkov. [NYT] — Konrad Putzier
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