Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner allegedly wanted to have a secret communication channel with the Russians weeks after the United States presidential polls, according to a media report.
Mr. Kushner, in a meeting with Russian envoy to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between the then transition team and the Kremlin using Russian diplomatic facilities in the U.S., The Washington Post reported.
The information, which Mr. Kislyak relayed to Moscow after their meeting on December 1 or 2, was intercepted by the U.S. intelligence agencies, the daily said quoting an unnamed U.S. official briefed on intelligence reports.
The meeting was also attended by Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, the daily said.
WH revealed it only in March
“The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest,” the daily reported.
The opposition Democratic party urged Mr. Trump to fire Mr. Kushner.
“Trump has no choice but to immediately fire Kushner, whose failure to report this episode on his security clearance is reason enough for a criminal investigation,” Deputy National Committee deputy communications director Adrienne Watson demanded in a statement.
Ultimately, whose hand?
“The next question is whether the President authorised this, because no one stands between Trump and Kushner on the chain of command,” Ms. Watson asked.
Democratic Congressman Nanette Diaz Barragan from California tweeted, “The Kremlin and Kushner/ #Trump ties become more & more disturbing as we learn more facts w each passing day.”
According to The Washington Post , the Russian Ambassador was alarmed by such a proposal from Mr. Kushner, who is now the senior-most advisor to the President and has played a key role in his trips to Saudi Arabia and Israel and Palestine.
The daily alleged that the discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Mr. Trump’s closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts.
