Comey: Kushner’s Attempted Russian Back-Channel Had ‘Obvious’ Risk
James Comey Image by Getty Images
Former FBI Director James Comey expressed deep concerns about Jared Kushner’s alleged attempts to establish a clandestine backchannel with Russian intelligence during his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee today.
Senator Martin Heinrich had asked Comey what the potential risks of setting up a backchannel with the Russian government would entail. Comey responded with this:
“I’m not going to comment on whether that happened in an open setting, but the risk is — primary risk is obvious. You spare the Russians the cost and effort to break into our communications channels by using theirs. You make it a whole lot easier for them to capture all of your conversations. Then to use those to the benefit of Russia against the United States.”
Kushner, of course, remains a person of interest in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into possible Russian meddling. Kushner is alleged to have approached Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and attempted to establish a line of communications using equipment at the Russian embassy.
Contact Jesse Bernstein at bernstein@forward.com or on Twitter @__jbernstein
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