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When he joined the White House staff in January 2017, Kushner
gained access to sensitive information through a temporary
security clearance while the FBI conducted a background check to
see if he qualified for a permanent clearance.
His temporary clearance was suspended by White House Chief of
Staff John Kelly in February along with other officials
operating under temporary clearances as part of measures to
tighten procedures after White House staff secretary Rob Porter
was fired when his two ex-wives raised charges of domestic
abuse.
"With respect to the news about his permanent security
clearance, as we stated before, his application was properly
submitted, reviewed by career officials, and went through the
normal process. Having completed these processes, Mr. Kushner is
looking forward to continuing the work the president has asked
him to do," said Kushner attorney Abbe Lowell.
Kushner is leading a Trump effort to resurrect the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process and has been a Trump conduit
to Mexico, among other activities.
It took an unusually long time for Kushner's background check to
be completed, raising questions about whether he might be in
trouble in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation
into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump,
attended a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with Russian
lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, Donald Trump Jr., and former Trump
campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Lowell, in a statement, said Kushner has cooperated fully with
the investigation, including sitting for two interviews with the
special counsel's office.
"In each occasion, he answered all questions asked and did
whatever he could to expedite the conclusion of all the
investigations," Lowell said.
According to a person familiar with the situation, Kushner was
interviewed for a second time by the Mueller team in the second
week of April. It lasted more than six hours.
The questions covered issues related to whether there was
collusion between Russian figures and the Trump campaign, and
any contacts during the Trump post-election transition period to
the presidency, among other issues, the source said.
According to the person, Mueller’s team did not ask questions
about Kushner’s business or finances, including his family's
real estate company.
(Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Tom Brown)
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