Senate committee requests more information on Kushner

Washington, Nov 17 (IANS) The Senate Judiciary Committee has requested more information on Donald President Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner related to his security clearance and questions over alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the media reported.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Dianne Feinstein in a letter on Thursday requested for "transcripts from other committee interviews, additional documents from previous requests, communications with (former National Security Adviser) Michael Flynn and documents related to his security clearance", reports CNN.

Grassley, an Iowa Republican, and Feinstein, a California Democrat, sent the letter to Kushner's attorney, Abbe Lowell, to provide access to the transcripts from Kushner's interviews with other congressional committees and also documents related to his security clearance.

They wrote there were missing documents, such as emails to Kushner on WikiLeaks and a "Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite" that the senior adviser had forwarded to another campaign official.

The two senators also requested all communications related to Flynn's termination as National Security Adviser and any emails between the two that contain keywords such as "Clinton", "WikiLeaks" and "Putin".

The deadline to produce the documents was set for November 27.

Kushner's attorney told CNN later on Thursday that the President's son-in-law has been "responsive" to all requests.

"We provided the Judiciary Committee with all relevant documents that had to do with Kushner's calls, contacts or meetings with Russians during the campaign and transition, which was the request.

"We also informed the committee we will be open to responding to any additional requests and that we will continue to work with White House counsel for any responsive documents from after the inauguration.

"We have been in a dialogue with the committee and will continue to do so as part of Kushner's voluntary cooperation with relevant bipartisan inquiries," the attorney added.

The spotlight on Kushner's security clearance form has become a focus in the Moscow investigation as congressional committees try to determine whether any inappropriate meetings or contacts occurred between Russian officials and Trump associates during the campaign season.

In a statement to Congress in July, Kushner downplayed the significance of those meetings, saying they occurred during the normal course of a campaign and transition period.