White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday defended the meetings Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, had with foreign officials during the transition by saying he was the team’s liaison with foreign governments.
“Throughout the campaign and transition,” Kushner served as the “primary point of contact” for foreign officials, Spicer said.
Kushner agreed this week to speak with the Senate Intelligence Committee about his arrangement of a meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the transition, Spicer confirmed.
“He volunteered to speak with Chairman [Richard] Burr’s committee,” Spicer said of Kushner. “I think, based on the questions that surrounded this, he volunteered to go in and sit down with them.”
Spicer did not specify whether Kushner will submit to a public hearing or whether he will meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee behind closed doors.
“Given the role that he played … he met with countless individuals. That was part of his job, that was part of his role, and he executed it completely as he was supposed to,” Spicer added.
The Trump administration has spent weeks fending off allegations of inappropriate pre-inaugural contact with Russian officials.
Several other former Trump campaign associates, including Paul Manafort, Carter Page and Roger Stone, have volunteered to speak before the House Intelligence Committee for its parallel probe into Russian cyber activities during the presidential race.
