Lawyer: Kushner is ‘the hero’ in campaign emails regarding Russia

Jared Kushner’s lawyer said Sunday the Senate Judiciary Committee has “jumped the gun” in accusing Trump’s son-in-law, who is also a White House senior adviser, of not disclosing documents discussing WikiLeaks and Russian overtures during the 2016 campaign. 

Abbe Lowell, who is representing Kushner, told CNN that Kushner in his email exchange rejected the idea of a meeting described as a “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite” by the committee.

“If you look at the content of these emails, he’s the hero. He’s the one who’s saying there shouldn’t be any contact with foreign officials or foreign entities,” Lowell told CNN. “That’s what the Senate Judiciary Committee should pay attention to and not create some sort of partisan gotcha game.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday sent a letter to Lowell demanding additional documents from Kushner as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

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In the letter, the two senators said Kushner received and forwarded emails about WikiLeaks, as well as a communication about a “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite.”

The letter, addressed to Lowell, gave him until Nov. 27 to comply with the request for additional documents.

Lowell said Sunday that the committee told Kushner and his team that they could provide initial documents and then hand over other relevant materials. By suggesting Kushner has not provided necessary documents, the committee is undermining its credibility, he said. 

“In my communications with the Senate Judiciary Committee, I said, ‘Take these documents, and let’s talk about what else is relevant,’” Lowell told CNN. “They jumped the gun to make a media event.”

Both Kushner and Donald Trump Jr. have come under scrutiny for meeting during the campaign with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information about Hillary Clinton. 

Trump Jr. more recently confirmed that he received messages directly from WikiLeaks leading up to the election.