Kushner denies communication with WikiLeaks

Washington, Nov 18 (IANS) White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told congressional investigators probing alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election, that he did not communicate with WikiLeaks during the campaign, the media reported.

In an interview on Friday, Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, accurately answered questions about his contact and also said that he did recall anyone else in the campaign who had communicated with WikiLeaks, an informed source told CNN.

In a statement on Friday night, Kushner attorney Abbe Lowell said the committee had asked "a classic gotcha question.

"Kushner was asked if he had contacts with Wikileaks, Guccifer or DC Leaks and said no. He also said he did not know of such contacts by the campaign. From all I have now seen, his statement was accurate then as it is now. In over six hours of voluntary testimony, Kushner answered all questions put to him and demonstrated that there had been no collusion between the campaign and Russia."

Kushner was asked in July during his closed-door congressional testimony if he had any contacts with WikiLeaks or its founder Julian Assange and he responded that he had not.

The campaign's communications with WikiLeaks were currently under scrutiny after a media report earlier this week said that Trump Jr. had corresponded with WikiLeaks over Twitter during the height of the 2016 presidential campaign, reports CNN.

Trump Jr. subsequently shared his messages with WikiLeaks on Twitter.

The same day he received the first Twitter direct message from WikiLeaks about an anti-Trump political action committee (PAC), Trump Jr. emailed Kushner and other senior officials on the campaign telling them WikiLeaks had made contact, according to the report.

Kushner forwarded that email to campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks, who is now White House communications director.

The contents of Trump's Jr.'s email to Kushner and others are not known.