Jared Kushner In The Soup As Robert Mueller’s Investigation Zeroes In On Him — Is An Indictment Inevitable?
Jared Kushner seems to have mired himself in deep trouble with multiple sources close to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation telling the Wall Street Journal that his actions are being scrutinized on several fronts.
The Inquisitr had earlier reported that Kushner is a prime target for Mueller, who believes the senior adviser to Trump’s administration has previously failed to disclose his ties with foreign agents and governments. Witnesses who have been interviewed by Mueller’s team are reportedly also being questioned about Kushner’s role in several key decisions made by the Trump administration since his ascension to presidency, including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.
Four sources now tell WSJ that Kushner had pushed for Comey’s removal from office primarily based on his assertion that it would be applauded both by FBI agents disgruntled with Comey’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server, as well as Democrats who were calling for his head. But it appears Kushner’s assumptions have now backfired, with Mueller intent on investigating if Trump’s senior adviser obstructed justice by doing so. Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, has previously confirmed that Kushner was consulted before Trump made the decision to fire Comey.
“When the president made the decision to fire FBI Director Comey, Mr. Kushner supported it,” Lowell said.
Jared Kushner's attorney has fired back at a Senate panel that accused President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser of not disclosing key documents https://t.co/Lr8Gx5twNu pic.twitter.com/RQG7Hpg4HC
— CNN (@CNN) November 18, 2017
Even more damning are the new revelations made in the WSJ report. Apart from Jared Kushner’s role in Comey’s firing, Mueller’s team is also investigating his interactions with foreign leaders during the presidential transition, including his involvement in a dispute at the United Nations back in December. Before Trump’s inauguration, Israeli officials reportedly made contact with the Trump administration to block a UN move condemning the construction of Israeli settlements in disputed territories. Trump had taken to Facebook to condemn the move, but despite his assertion, then-president Barack Obama declined to block the move. Israeli authorities have previously confirmed that they reached out to Trump’s incoming administration, and Mueller is investigating if Jared Kushner was their point of contact, according to several witnesses.
Investigators are also interviewing witnesses about a meeting Kushner held with Sergey Gorkov during the presidential transition. Gorkov is a chief executive in the Kremlin-owned Vnesheconombank, which was added to the U.S. sanctions list in 2014 because of Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict. Apart from these contacts with foreign officials, Mueller is also investigating Kushner’s role in the meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016, during which he was reportedly promised dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Mueller’s team is also investigating if Jared Kushner lied or withheld information of his contact with WikiLeaks in interviews with congressional panels back in July this year. Documents handed over to congressional committees by Donald Trump Jr. showed that he had been contacted at least once by the whistle-blower organization. Trump Jr., in turn, forwarded the email to Kushner, but he failed to disclose this development during congressional hearings.
Jared Kushner Was Aware of a “Russian Backdoor Overture,” Senators Say https://t.co/0mSm2wedO0 pic.twitter.com/sh77V9u3Wl
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) November 16, 2017
Despite ample evidence showing that Jared Kushner was contacted by foreign officials before and after the election and that he reciprocated to those approaches as well, Kushner did not initially disclose any of these contacts while filling a government form required to obtain a security clearance. Kushner’s attorneys later updated the list at least thrice, calling his initial omissions an “administrative error.”
Mueller is investigating if these omissions were intentional, as reports have suggested that Kushner made contacts with at least 100 officials linked to more than 20 countries.
The 1799 Logan Act bars Americans from communicating with a foreign government to influence the government’s actions related to a dispute with the U.S., and there are speculations that Kushner might be tried under this act by Robert Mueller, although these reports remain unverified.
[Featured Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
