The investigation into alleged collusion between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian government officials has turned its sights on a man very close to Trump himself — presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators are looking into contacts that Kushner had with foreign leaders during the transition from Obama's presidency to Trump's, according to The Wall Street Journal. These include questions about the extent of Kushner's involvement in a controversy over a United Nations resolution in December that condemned Israel's continued construction of settlements in territory claimed by Palestinian organizations. Obama did not block the resolution, even though Trump argued it should be vetoed, and Israeli officials are believed to have reached out to senior officials in Trump's transition team, including Kushner and former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Investigators are also looking into Kushner's activities in general, coordinating meetings with foreign leaders during the transition period, which may be connected with Kushner neglecting to mention in his security clearance form various foreign contacts that he may have had. Kushner had to subsequently update the form at least three times to include more than 100 contacts from 20 countries, which he claimed happened due to an "administrative error."
It is unclear whether Mueller's team is specifically looking into a transition-era meeting between Kushner and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower, with whom Kushner sought to seek a backchannel of communication with the Kremlin, according to Business Insider. Kushner later met with the CEO of Russia's Vnesheconombank, Sergei Gorkov.
It is also unclear which, if any, of the investigations into Kushner's interactions with foreign leaders reflect on the son-in-law being under suspicion of having committed a crime. A subject can be targeted by a probe without it meaning that the individuals involved in the matter are themselves being considered as suspects in a crime.
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