May 26, 2017

Kushner offers to cooperate

Mike Allen

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

After Jared Kushner was named Thursday as the "current White House official" under scrutiny about Russia, a statement from his lawyer suggested he has not been contacted by investigators.

The lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, said: "Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry."

  • Between the lines: The "if" suggests that hasn't happened.
  • What's new? The WashPost says in the lead story of Friday's paper: "Kushner, who held meetings in December with the Russian ambassador and a banker from Moscow, is being investigated because of the extent and nature of his interactions with the Russians."
  • Also per The Post: "[I]nvestigators are also looking broadly into possible financial crimes ... [P]eople familiar with the matter ... did not specify who or what was being examined."
  • But, but, but ... Per NBC: "[O]fficials said Kushner is in a different category from former Trump aides Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, who are formally considered subjects of the investigation."
  • Why it matters: Kushner has his hands in everything. So even the best-case scenario is a distraction at the very top of the White House.

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