Jared Kushner answered questions behind closed doors to a congressional intelligence committee on his ties to Russia — the second time in as many days that he’s done so under those conditions.
Kushner, son-in-law and top advisor to President Trump, remained tight-lipped after the three-hour session, taking no questions as he left the House Intelligence Committee.
He did, however, make statements after yesterday’s meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee, but only after he left a Senate office building and returned to address reporters with the White House as a backdrop.
Rep. Mike Conaway, the Texas Republican who is now heading up the committee’s Russia investigation, said he found Kushner to be “straightforward, forthcoming, [he] wanted to answer every question that we had.”
“We’re going to follow up on any questions that we think of later that we didn’t get asked this morning,” Conaway added.
The ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, said Kushner and his lawyers expressed their openness to returning to talk to the committee further at a later date, but added Tuesday’s meeting was “productive” on “a range of issues.”
Tuesday’s meeting came on a morning of furious action and speculation, all related in some way to the numerous ongoing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.
Paul Manafort met with and provided information to the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday morning, while at the same time the Senate Judiciary Committee announced they are subpoenaing Manafort, who served as a campaign manager for Trump during the summer of 2016. The Judiciary Committee’s subpoena should force Manafort to appear at a Wednesday hearing.
Earlier, President Trump started the day by tweeting negative comments about Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the second day in a row in which Trump used his Twitter account to undermine Sessions. The tweets have caused some Senate Republicans like Lindsey Graham to defend the AG.
Despite the defenders, others — including the new White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci — said it seemed likely that Sessions wasn’t long for the job.
The president has made plain he resents Sessions recusing himself in March from being involved with any Justice Department investigations that relate to the 2016 campaigns. Part of that complaint seems rooted in the fact that it leaves Sessions completely powerless and out of the loop as special counsel Robert Muller continues his work.
Recent reports indicated the president wants to keep Mueller from getting into his personal finances, and the personal finances of those on his team.
Elements of Kushner’s Monday meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee suggests he’ll have more work to do before that group is satisfied.
Kushner, Manafort, and Donald Trump Jr. have all been under increased scrutiny after Trump Jr. released an email thread that showed all three men met with a Russian lawyer and others in an attempt to acquire negative information that could be used against the Clinton campaign in June of 2016.
