Dem Rep.: I Think Kushner ‘Intentionally Omitted’ Meetings With Russians

Congressman Jerrold Nadler Immigration Ban protest, New York, USA - 29 Jan 2017 (Rex Features via AP Images)
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Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said Friday that he believed the President’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner intentionally left off dozens of meetings with foreign officials on his application for a top secret security clearance.

The New York Times reported on April 6, citing unnamed people with direct knowledge of the omissions, that Kushner had left out “dozens” of contacts with foreign leaders on officials on the application form. Excluded from the form, the Times reported, were a December meeting with the Russian ambassador to the United States and another meeting the same month, arranged at the ambassador’s behest, with the leader of a Russian state-owned bank.

“It’s hard to imagine that when you have a form that says you answer completely under penalty of perjury, you don’t omit anything under penalty of perjury, that you omit dozens of meetings with foreign officials, when they specifically ask about that,” Nadler told CNN’s Kate Bolduan Friday.

Nadler was one of five signatories of a letter to the FBI and the National Background Investigations Bureau Thursday requesting that Kushner’s interim security clearance be revoked until the omissions were answered for.

“In a normal administration, I would say if he weren’t the President’s son-in-law, this wouldn’t be tolerated,” Nadler said, comparing Kushner to ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who misled the Vice President and the Senate Judiciary Committee about their contact with the Russian ambassador, respectively.

Bolduan asked Nadler if he thought Kushner had intentionally misled on the security form.

“I think he intentionally omitted,” Nadler replied. “When you’ve had dozens of meetings with foreign officials, and they specifically ask you about that and you don’t put it down, yes, that’s intentional.”

“But when they clear it up, then you’re fine with it?” she asked.

“No, I’m not fine with it,” Nadler said.

Knowingly falsifying or concealing material facts on the security clearance form is a felony punishable by up to five years in jail. Kushner’s lawyer told the Times supplementary information would be provided to correct the form.

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