Kushner: “I Did Not Collude With Russia”

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, spoke in front of a group of Senate investigators on Monday in a closed door meeting. The son-in-law of the President admitted meeting with Russians four times during and after Trump’s White House bid. Kushner stated that he has “nothing to hide” and came out of the meeting stating “all of my actions were proper.”

Kushner, a presidential adviser and developer, will return to the spotlight on Tuesday when he is slated to speak in front of the House intelligence panel.

“I did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so,” stated Kushner during a public statement at the White House. Earlier on Monday, he also released a statement to both the Senate and House committee.

He acknowledges that he met with Russian officials, but downplayed the contact, stating that the meetings were either routine or insignificant.

The statement comes at a time when FBI officials are investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia did tip the election in Trump’s favor.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Trump or any of his associates had coordinated with Russia in an effort to sway the election in Trump’s favor.

Donald Trump Jr. also accepted a meeting with a Russian lawyer that had damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr.’s emails indicate that he accepted the meeting knowing that the information was from the Russian government in an effort to help his father’s campaign.

Kushner also confirmed the reports that he suggested adviser Michael Flynn, national security adviser, set up secure lines of communication with Russian diplomats but denies that the line was a “secret back channel.”

Fox News claims that the meetings were legal and beneficial.

Sanction laws would go into effect if Kushner discussed money or financing with Russian officials, with potential jail time of 20 years. Thus far, Kushner’s meeting with Russian officials doesn’t seem to break any laws based off of the information available.