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Kushner had three undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy: report

by Jesse Byrnes - 05/26/17 9:14 PM ET

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Russia’s envoy to the U.S. during and after the campaign, Reuters reported Friday.

Reuters reported that the contacts involving President Trump’s son-in-law included two phone calls between April and November 2016.

The White House said in March that Kushner and Trump’s first national security adviser Michael Flynn had met Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower in December.

The Washington Post and Reuters reported Friday evening that Kushner had discussed with the Russian ambassador the possibility of establishing a secure, private line of communication between the presidential transition and the Kremlin.

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Six sources told Reuters that there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak, but declined to disclose details beyond the two pre-election calls and the post-election conversation about setting up a possible backchannel.

Kislyak’s undisclosed discussions with Kushner and Flynn before the election focused on fighting terrorism and improving economic relations between the U.S. and Russia, six sources told Reuters.

Kushner’s attorney told Reuters that Kushner didn’t remember any calls with the Russian envoy between April and November of last year.

“Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information,” Jamie Gorelick said.

The Washington Post and NBC News reported this week that Kushner was under FBI scrutiny over his contacts with Russia.

A law enforcement official told Reuters that while the bureau is investigating his Russian contacts, the White House official is not currently a target of the investigation.

Updated: 9:32 p.m.

Tags Jared Kushner