Kushner: ‘I Did Not Collude with Russia’

After denying improper conduct during nearly two hours of closed-door questioning by Senate staffers Monday, key White House aide Jared Kushner did the same in public.

“The record and documents that I have voluntarily provided today will show that all of my actions were proper and occurred in the normal course of events of a very unique campaign,” he said outside the White House. “Let me be very clear: I did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so.”

Kushner, who also is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has been under heightened scrutiny after disclosing a previously unreported meeting he and two other Trump campaign advisers had with a Russian lawyer in June 2016. Administration critics have pointed to the meeting as smoking-gun evidence that the campaign was willing to conspire with Russia to influence the outcome of the presidential election.

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In an 11-page statement released ahead of his appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Kushner wrote that reviewing his emails confirmed his memory that the meeting was “a waste of our time.” He added that he quickly looked to bow out.

“I actually emailed an assistant from the meeting after I had been there for 10 or so minutes and wrote ‘Can u pls call me on my cell? Need excuse to get out of meeting,'” his statement reads.

Kushner wrote that there was no discussion of the campaign during the time that he was present. He also wrote that he is not aware of any follow-up by the campaign.

Kushner’s public statement likely was the first time most Americans have heard the mercurial aide’s voice. He keeps a low public profile and did not take questions from reporters before leaving the podium.

“Every day, I come to work with excitement and enthusiasm for what can be,” he said. “I have not sought the spotlight. First in business and now in public service, I have always focused on setting and achieving goals and have left it to others to work on media and public perception.”

In his written statement, Kushner said he first met then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in April 2016 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, where Trump gave a major foreign-policy speech. He said Kislyak was among four foreign ambassadors the event’s host introduced to him.

“Donald Trump had a better message and ran a smarter campaign, and that is why he won. Suggesting otherwise ridicules those who voted for him.”

Kushner wrote that he met with Kislyak again on December 1 in a meeting at Trump Tower in New York that included retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. He stated that he asked Kislyak who would be the best contact for future conversations — an indication, he argued in the statement, that he had no prior channel of communication with the Russians during the campaign.

In addition, Kushner wrote, he met on December 13 with a Russian banker named Sergey Gorkov. He wrote that the meeting lasted about 25 minutes and that Gorkov gave him two gifts — a piece of art from the Belarus village where Kushner’s grandparents were from and a bag of dirt from that same village — and turned the presents over to his assistant to register with the transition office. He said he and Gorkov expressed a mutual desire to improve U.S.-Russia relations but discussed no specific policies.

Kushner told reporters that he has been proud to work on issues such as Mideast peace and promoting innovation. He reiterated that he has had no improper contacts with Russians and has not relied on Russian funds for his private business. He said he has been fully transparent and looks forward to answering questions from House of Representatives investigators on Tuesday.

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Trump’s election victory, Kushner said, was not due to underhanded dealings with Russia.

“Donald Trump had a better message and ran a smarter campaign, and that is why he won,” he said. “Suggesting otherwise ridicules those who voted for him.”

(photo credit, homepage image: Lori Berkowitz Photography, Flickr)