Ever since Donald Trump's victory in the US Presidential elections last November, there have been consistent reports about Russian interference in the whole process. As a result, Team Trump's collusion with the Russians is being investigated by the FBI. In a fresh development that would definitely comes as a blow to the President, his son in law and key adviser jared kushner is now going to be investigated by the FBI over his links to Russia.
He is not a suspect
The US media, namely NBC News and Washington Post, have reported that Jared Kushner is going to be investigated in relation to the alleged Russian involvement in the US Presidential election last year.
However, the reports have also stated that Kushner is not actually a suspect in any wrongdoing and the FBI is simply going through routine investigative procedures. At this point in time, the FBI has no plans to charge him with any crime. The Washington Post published a story, in which it stated that the investigators are interested in Kushner's dealings with a Russian banker and his relations with Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador in the United States. Kushner had met Kislyak multiple times last year according to many sources.
A blow to the President?
Considering Kushner's proximity to the President and the fact that he is family, this will come as another blow for Donald Trump, who has called the investigation a 'witch hunt'.
The intelligence establishment in the United States are firm in their belief that Russian influence was a factor in one of the most dramatic US presidential elections in recent memory. However, they are not sure if the Trump campaign was hand in glove with the Russians throughout and that is what this investigation is all about.
This is something that the President simply has not been able to shrug off in spite of all his belligerence and as the investigation goes into overdrive, there are bound to be testing times in the near future. Additionally, plenty of sources have alleged that the President had personally asked the former FBI chief to drop the investigations linking the Russians with Michael Flynn.
After the news broke, Jamie Gorelick, who is Kushner's lawyer, spoke to the BBC and said that his client had previously volunteered to share information with the members of the Congress regarding his meetings with the Russian diplomat Kislyak. He reassured that Kushner will cooperate with the investigators if he is officially asked to do so during the course of these investigations.