The FBI is investigating whether Donald Trump’s son-in-law plotted with a Russian banker to set up a secret direct line to Vladimir Putin.
Jared Kushner, 36, the US president’s most trusted adviser and husband to his daughter Ivanka, was looking to create a “back-channel” to the Russian president when he met Sergey Gorkov in December, it is claimed.
The new report follows allegations last week that Mr Kushner and the Russian ambassador to America, Sergey Kislyak, discussed setting up a secure, private line of communication with Moscow using Russian facilities that bypassed the US government.
Now, according to the New York Times, the FBI and congressional investigators are said to be probing what was said during Mr Kushner’s 30-minute meeting with Mr Gorkov, chairman of the state-owned Vnesheconombank and an associate of President Putin.
The talks would have taken place before Mr Trump assumed the presidency, when Mr Kushner was a private citizen.
Investigators are reportedly looking into whether one reason Trump officials wanted a direct line to the Kremlin was to discuss the possibility of lifting sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.
Trump administration officials have said they are considering rolling back the sanctions, which limit America’s financing to six of Russia’s biggest banks, including Vnesheconombank.
The bank has long been closely aligned with Mr Putin’s inner circle and is controlled by his government, including prime minister Dmitri Medvedev.
In March last year, one of its staff working in New York was unveiled as a spy working for Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR.
Mr Gorkov has said in a statement that his December meeting with Mr Kushner was part of the bank’s strategy to discuss promising trends and sectors with influential financial institutions in Europe, Asia and the United States.
There is no suggestion Mr Kushner did anything illegal. Yesterday, Mr Trump said: “Jared is doing a great job for the country.
"I have total confidence in him. He is respected by virtually everyone and is working on programmes that will save our country billions of dollars. In addition to that, and perhaps more importantly, he is a very good person.”
Mr Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters in Moscow that the Kremlin was unaware of the meeting between Mr Kushner and Mr Gorkov at the time and that it was routine.
