Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, detailed four meetings he held last year with Russian officials in a statement on Monday in which he also said he “did not collude” with Moscow during the 2016 U.S. election campaign.<br /><br />Kushner, who met behind closed doors with Senate Intelligence Committee staff, issued a written statement before that session that gave the fullest account to date of his contacts with Russian officials during the campaign and the presidential transition.<br /><br />Kushner, like Trump a businessman, portrayed himself as someone who was new to politics when he became a top adviser to his father-in-law’s campaign and was often so frantic fielding phone calls and emails that his recollections of some meetings was somewhat hazy.<br /><br />“I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government,” he said. “I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector.”<br /><br />The Senate Intelligence Committee is one of several congressional panels investigating the Russia matter, along with a federal criminal probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller.<br /><br />Speaking at the White House after the meeting, Kushner said all of his actions were proper and occurred within a “very unique campaign.”<br /><br />Kushner said Trump prevailed over his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in November 2016 because he ran a “smarter campaign” and that to suggest otherwise “ridicules those who voted for him.”<br />
