Mueller is investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 US election and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow to influence the outcome
The White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has turned over documents to the special counsel Robert Mueller as investigators have expressed interest his role in the firing of James Comey as FBI director, CNN reported Thursday.
CNN reported that Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, turned over the documents to Mueller “in recent weeks.” Trump fired Comey in May.
Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 US election — and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow to influence the outcome — led to the indictments on Monday of Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and Manafort’s past business associate Rick Gates. Court documents released by Mueller on Monday also showed that George Papadopoulos, a foreign-policy adviser to the campaign, had pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI.
Mueller’s investigators have been asking in witness interviews about Kushner’s role in Comey’s firing, sources told CNN.
Meanwhile, sources close to the White House told CNN that based on their knowledge, Kushner was not a target of Mueller’s investigation. Kushner voluntarily turned over the documents, which were similar to the ones he provided congressional investigators earlier this year, CNN reported.
Those close to Trump dispute how much Kushner influenced Trump’s decision to fire Comey and why Kushner would want the FBI director fired, CNN said.
Comey’s firing ultimately led Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint Mueller as the special counsel. Comey had been overseeing the Russia investigation at the FBI, leading to questions about whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice by firing him.
CNN’s report came one day after Vanity Fair reported that Trump was becoming frustrated with Kushner.
Citing a source briefed on a Tuesday call between Trump and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman reported that Trump blamed Kushner “for his role in decisions, specifically the firings” of Michael Flynn as White House national security adviser and Comey as FBI director.
Trump also told his longtime adviser Roger Stone that he agreed with Stone’s assessment that Kushner was providing him bad political advice, someone familiar with the conversation told Vanity Fair.
“Jared is the worst political adviser in the White House in modern history,” Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign operative, told Vanity Fair. “I’m only saying publicly what everyone says behind the scenes at Fox News, in conservative media, and the Senate and Congress.”
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