Jared Kushner 'wanted secret channel with Kremlin' and 'had undisclosed contacts' during Trump campaign

Jared Kushner, the senior adviser to the president and the his son-in-law, reportedly discussed with the Russian ambassador the possibility of creating a secret communication channel between Donald Trump's transition team and the Kremlin.

The move, which was apparently intended to make the confidential talks more difficult to monitor, was reportedly discussed during a meeting on December 1 or 2 at Trump Tower.

While the White House confirmed that encounter in March, it was reported on Friday that Mr Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Sergei Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, during and after the 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr Kislyak told his superiors in Moscow that Mr Kushner proposed using Russian diplomatic facilities for their discussions, the Washington Post reported, citing US officials briefed on intelligence reports.

The envoy was reportedly "taken aback" by the suggestion, according to Post, which cited anonymous US officials who were briefed on intelligence reports on intercepted Russian communications.

The White House declined to comment, the newspaper said. The Russian Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

While the FBI is investigating Mr Kushner's contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, a current law enforcement official told Reuters.

The White House in March confirmed that Mr Kushner and the ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn, met with Mr Kislyak at Trump Tower in December.

However, Mr Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian envoy during and after the election campaign, seven current and former US officials told Reuters.

Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. 

The new information about the two calls shed light on when and why Mr Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show his contacts with Mr Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged.

Mr Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said his client did not remember any calls with Mr Kislyak between April and November.

"Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," she said.

The explosive reports come a day after it was claimed that Mr Kushner is under scrutiny by the FBI as part of the Russia investigation.

One former senior intelligence official was quoted as saying the suggestion of a secret channel with the Kremlin “seems extremely naive or absolutely crazy”.  “How would he trust that the Russians wouldn’t leak it on their side?” the former official said.

Responding to the report, Susan Hennessey, a former associate counsel for the National Security Agency, said: "Hard to fully convey the gravity of this. Unthinkable Kushner could stay in the White House."

Ted Lieu, a Democratic congressman, said: "ONLY reason Kushner would want secret communications with Kremlin is to hide information from US intelligence. Whose side is he on?"

Mr Kushner's lawyer has said he is ready to talk to federal investigators as well as Congress about his contacts and his role in Mr Trump's 2016 campaign.

The FBI and several congressional committees are looking into Russia-Trump campaign connections, including allegations there may have been collaboration to help Mr Trump and harm his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked Mr Trump's political organisation to hand over all documents going back the campaign's launch in June 2015, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing two people briefed on the request.

The letter from the Senate panel seeking all documents, emails and telephone records arrived at Mr Trump's campaign committee last week and was addressed to its treasurer, the Post said. This marked the first time the Trump campaign organisation has been drawn into the bipartisan committee's investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election, it said.

Mr Kushner was a trusted Trump adviser last year, overseeing the campaign's digital strategy, and remains an influential confidant within the White House.

One likely area of interest for investigators would be Mr Kushner's own meetings with Russians, given that such encounters with a variety of Trump associates are at the root of the sprawling probe, now overseen by former FBI director Robert Mueller.

Mr Flynn was pushed out of the White House in February after officials said he misled Vice President Mike Pence about whether he and the ambassador had discussed US sanctions against Russia in a phone call. Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, told Congress this month that that deception left Flynn vulnerable to being blackmailed by the Russians. Mr Flynn remains under federal investigation in Virginia over his foreign business ties and was interviewed by the FBI in January about his contacts with Mr Kislyak.

"If there is an investigation on anybody, would other folks around that person be of interest to the FBI as far as being interviewed? The answer to that is a big yes," said former FBI agent Jim Treacy, who did two tours in Moscow as the FBI's legal attache. If the FBI wants to speak with someone, it's not necessarily an indication of involvement or complicity, Mr Treacy said.

"Really, being spoken to, does not confer a target status on the individual," he said.

Investigators are also interested in a meeting Mr Kushner had with the Russian banker, Sergey Gorkov, according to reports from The Washington Post and NBC News.

"Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings," Mr Gorelick said. "He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry."

Another potential line of inquiry could concern Mr Kushner's failure to disclose some of his contacts with Russian government officials when he was filling out his application for a security clearance. The omissions were described as an "administrative error" by Mr Gorelick, who said additional information about his meetings were provided to the FBI the day after he submitted his incomplete clearance application.

Some Democrats have called on Mr Kushner to be stripped of his security clearance and have asked the FBI to review whether Mr Kushner complied with the law.