Has Jared Been Told To ‘Lay Low’ As Russia Probe Spins Closer?

Image by Getty Images

By Dave Goldiner May 29, 2017

Has Jared Kushner been told to lower his White House profile amid reports that he is a key figure in the investigation into contacts with Russia?

NBC News quotes sources saying that Kushner has been warned by several associates to “lay low” while the Trump administration battles the ever=growing fallout from the probe.

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NBC News that at least one staffer was speechless when the person learned about Kushner’s involvement in a so-called “back channel” to Russia during the transition period.

If Jared does step back from the spotlight it would be a huge changed for Trump’s do-everything Jewish son-in-law.

Kushner has been annointed the go-to guy on everything from Middle East peacemaking to streamlining government bureaucracy.

He was even said to be heading a White House “war room” to push back on revelations related to the Russia investigation — but that may have changed now that he might wind up at the center of the scandal.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.

In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.

At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.

Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO