Kelly: Any channel of communication with a country like Russia a ‘good thing’

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Sunday said he doesn’t think the reports that White House senior adviser Jared Kushner sought to establish a backchannel line of communication between the Trump transition team and Moscow are a cause for concern.

“I don’t know if its true or not. I know it’s being reported in the press,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“I would just tell you that I think any channel of communication, back or otherwise, with a country like Russia is a good thing.”

Kelly said he favors multiple ways of communicating with any country.

{mosads}”It doesn’t bother me,” he said.

“You just have to assume, obviously, that what you’re getting is — may or may not be true, they may be working you.”

But, he said, that’s the “whole point.”

“That communication then goes into the White House as a data point in terms of discussion, so I don’t see a big deal,” he said.

“Any time you have channels of communication with a country, particularly one like Russia, I wouldn’t criticize it.”

The Washington Post reported on Friday that Kushner in December sought to establish a backchannel line of communication during a meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. That channel was never set up.