jared kushner finally has to give investigators what they want in the Russian probe -- answers. President Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday to answer questions in their probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. It's been a long-awaited event in the scandal and Kushner now will find himself in the hot seat.
Time for Kushner to face the music
ABC News reports that the meeting will be a closed-door session, which means it won't be televised as it was during former FBI Director James Comey's public hearing.
Kushner's meeting is one of the most "highly anticipated" sessions for lawmakers to this point. He's been scrutinized for his business deals with the Russians, his proposal to have a secret set-up between Russian officials and the Trump campaign last fall, and for being present at a meeting between Donald Trump, Jr. and a Russian attorney who was thought to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Moreover, Kushner has updated his security disclosure forms three times since entering the White House.
Jared Kushner's attorney, Abbe Lowell, says his client "has been saying since March, he has been and is prepared to voluntarily cooperate and provide whatever information he has on the investigations to Congress." Lowell continues that Kushner "appreciates the opportunity to assist in putting this matter to rest" by having the Senate Intelligence Committee interview him.
Security clearance forms "prematurely" submitted
A lot of suspicion swirls around Kushner and the Russian investigation. Although he's not under investigation himself, he's one of Trump's closest confidantes who's of interest to intelligence officials based on undisclosed communications with the Russians. Congressional investigators want to know why Kushner failed to disclose that information on his security clearance application.
Jamie Gorelick, another lawyer for Kushner, justified the failure as his client "prematurely" submitting them "among other errors, [it] did not list any contacts with foreign government officials." Jared Kushner updated the forms that indicated he had more than 100 "calls or meetings with representatives of more than 20 countries."
Democrats are targeting Ivanka Trump in the Russian probe, curious to know why she's also failed to list her own contacts with foreign officials, or what she knows about her husband's past connections. Whether Congress will interview Ivanka eventually is unknown. It hinges on what, if any, information could be leaked.
What will Jared Kushner's closed-session meeting yield to investigators?
