Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman March 4, 2017

Add Jared Kushner to the list of Trump advisers who held talks with Russian officials during the transition period.

The White House confirmed Thursday that Trump’s son-in-law attended a December meeting with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, alongside Michael Flynn.

Flynn has since lost his job as National Security Adviser due to similar meetings and talks with Kislyak and Attorney General Jeff Sessions was just forced to recuse himself from overseeing an investigation into Russia’s involvement in the elections after it has been revealed that he had met with the ambassador.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Kushner, according to White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks, took part in a 20-minute conversation with Kislyak held at the Trump Tower in order to “establish a line of communication” between the incoming administration and Russia. “Jared has had meetings with many other foreign countries and representatives — as many as two dozen other foreign countries’ leaders and representatives,” Hicks added.

While meetings with foreign representatives are legal and common for presidential transition team, Flynn came under fire for allegedly discussing Russia’s reaction to sanctions imposed on it by the Obama administration and later lying about the talks. Kushner, according to the report, played a minor role in the meeting with Kislyak and has not met with the Russian ambassador since.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected]

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount