Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump&#39;s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, said on Monday he &quot;did not collude&quot; with Russia and had roughly four meetings with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign and presidential transition, AFP reports.

In a written statement released ahead of his scheduled appearance before lawmakers in closed-door sessions, Kushner said his initial White House security clearance form had been submitted prematurely in error and had omitted all foreign contacts.

Filing misleading information in this form is a felony which carries&nbsp;a possible five-year jail sentence. Kushner&nbsp;originally claimed&nbsp;he had no&nbsp;foreign contacts before the election, and updated the forms, several times, to show he had over <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Jared-Kushner-added-more-than-100-names-to-his-list-of-foreign-contacts-in-updated-security-clearance-forms/articleshow/59581180.cms">100 foreign contacts</a> from over 20 countries.

&quot;I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government,&quot; Kushner said.&nbsp;&quot;I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector,&quot; he said.

Trump&#39;s son Donald Trump Jr released emails this month, with a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/11/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-email-text.html" target="_blank">subject heading</a> &#39;&#39;Re - Russia-Clinton--private and confidential&#39;,&nbsp;that showed Trump Jr appeared to welcome the prospect of damaging information from the Russian government about Clinton. Members of both committees say they are eager to hear about the June 2016 meeting involving Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Kushner and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort were also at the meeting.

Kushner faces two days of closed-door questioning from Congress as lawmakers try to determine whether Trump&#39;s campaign enlisted Russia&#39;s help to win the White House in last year&#39;s election.

Kushner is scheduled to address the Senate Intelligence Committee at 10 am&nbsp;on Monday and the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday. Trump has been dogged by allegations that his campaign aides worked with Russia, which US.&nbsp;

Intelligence agencies have accused Russia of interfering in the election. Moscow has denied any interference, and Trump says his campaign did not collude with Moscow.&nbsp;The Republican president has said the Russia probes in Congress and the Justice Department are politically motivated.

In a tweet on Monday morning, Trump lashed out at the ongoing investigations.

&quot;So why aren&#39;t the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered AG, looking into Crooked Hillary&#39;s crimes &amp; Russia relations?&quot; he added, referring to his former Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.

&nbsp;

Kushner described the secret meetings with Russians promising damaging information about Clinton&nbsp;as a waste of time. &quot;I actually emailed an assistant from the meeting after I had been there for ten or so minutes and wrote &#39;Can u pls call me on my cell? Need excuse to get out of meeting.&#39;&quot;

He said no part of the meeting he attended &quot;included anything about the campaign&quot; and he had no knowledge of any documents being offered or accepted. <a href="http://time.com/4858397/donald-trump-jr-meeting-russian-lobbyist/" target="_blank">Time </a>reports that during the meeting, Akmetshin and the Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya brought a plastic folder with printed-out documents that detailed what she believed was the flow of illicit funds to the Democratic National Committee.

As for nothing being discussed related to the campaign, Trump Jr and even President Trump have said this secret meeting&nbsp;discussed &quot;adoption&quot;, which refers to the Magnitsky Act. After Obama in 2012 put sanctions on Russian oligarchs accused of human rights violations, a law known as the Magnitsky Act, Putin responded by forbidding Americans from adopting Russian babies.

The Magnitsky Act is thought to be preventing the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars.&nbsp;The Trump administration&#39;s potential willingness to drop sanctions against Russia is at the heart of the alleged connection between US President Donald&nbsp;Trump and Russia. Investigations into this are ongoing.&nbsp;

The Senate Judiciary Committee is negotiating with Manafort and Trump Jr&nbsp;about testifying in a public hearing. &nbsp;The congressional committees, along with federal special counsel Robert Mueller, are examining Russia&#39;s influence in the US election and possible links to Trump&#39;s campaign.

&nbsp;

&#39;Secret back channel&#39;

Kushner will also face questions about reports he tried to set up a secret back channel to Moscow, as well as other contacts with top Russian officials and business leaders.

Kushner said he first met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in Washington in April 2016 and shook hands. He said he did not recall phone calls with Kislyak between April and November of that year as reported by Reuters in May, had found no evidence of the calls in phone records and was skeptical they took place.&nbsp;

In a meeting with Kislyak after the election, on December&nbsp;1, Kushner said he articulated a desire for the United States to make a fresh start with Russia.

&quot;The fact that I was asking about ways to start a dialogue after Election Day should, of course, be viewed as strong evidence that I was not aware of one that existed before Election Day,&quot; he said.

He said the Russian ambassador asked if there was a secure line in Trump&#39;s transition office to facilitate a discussion with Russian generals about Syria. There was not.&nbsp;

Kushner suggested arranging something through an existing communications channel at the Russian embassy, but Kislyak indicated that was not possible and they agreed to follow up after the inauguration.

&quot;Nothing else occurred. I did not suggest a &#39;secret back channel.&#39;&nbsp;I did not suggest an ongoing secret form of communication for then or for when the administration took office,&quot; Kushner said. &quot;I did not raise the possibility of using the embassy or any other Russian facility for any purpose other than this one possible conversation in the transition period. We did not discuss sanctions.&quot;

Kushner said he met on December 13 with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, because Kislyak`s insistence and because he had a &quot;direct relationship&quot; with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama&#39;s administration were not discussed nor were Kushner`s business activities, Kushner said.

&quot;I did not know or have any contact with Mr Gorkov before that meeting, and I have had no reason to connect with him since,&quot; Kushner wrote.

Kushner did not initially disclose any meetings with Russians on forms he filed to get a government security clearance. He has since revised those forms several times.

He said the forms were initially submitted prematurely in error and omitted all foreign contacts he had had, not just those with Russian officials.

(With agency inputs)

 
&nbsp;

Kushner said his original White House security clearance form, which said he had 0 foreign contacts instead of over 100, had been submitted in error

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, said on Monday he "did not collude" with Russia and had roughly four meetings with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign and presidential transition, AFP reports. In a written statement released ahead of his scheduled appearance before lawmakers in closed-door sessions, Kushner said his initial White House security clearance form had been submitted prematurely in error and had omitted all foreign contacts. Filing misleading information in this form is a felony which carries a possible five-year jail sentence. Kushner originally claimed he had no foreign contacts before the election, and updated the forms, several times, to show he had over 100 foreign contacts from over 20 countries. "I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government," Kushner said. "I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector," he said. Trump's son Donald Trump Jr released emails this month, with a subject heading ''Re - Russia-Clinton--private and confidential', that showed Trump Jr appeared to welcome the prospect of damaging information from the Russian government about Clinton. Members of both committees say they are eager to hear about the June 2016 meeting involving Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Kushner and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort were also at the meeting. Kushner faces two days of closed-door questioning from Congress as lawmakers try to determine whether Trump's campaign enlisted Russia's help to win the White House in last year's election. Kushner is scheduled to address the Senate Intelligence Committee at 10 am on Monday and the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday. Trump has been dogged by allegations that his campaign aides worked with Russia, which US. Intelligence agencies have accused Russia of interfering in the election. Moscow has denied any interference, and Trump says his campaign did not collude with Moscow. The Republican president has said the Russia probes in Congress and the Justice Department are politically motivated. In a tweet on Monday morning, Trump lashed out at the ongoing investigations. "So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered AG, looking into Crooked Hillary's crimes & Russia relations?" he added, referring to his former Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton. Kushner described the secret meetings with Russians promising damaging information about Clinton as a waste of time. "I actually emailed an assistant from the meeting after I had been there for ten or so minutes and wrote 'Can u pls call me on my cell? Need excuse to get out of meeting.'" He said no part of the meeting he attended "included anything about the campaign" and he had no knowledge of any documents being offered or accepted. Time reports that during the meeting, Akmetshin and the Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya brought a plastic folder with printed-out documents that detailed what she believed was the flow of illicit funds to the Democratic National Committee. As for nothing being discussed related to the campaign, Trump Jr and even President Trump have said this secret meeting discussed "adoption", which refers to the Magnitsky Act. After Obama in 2012 put sanctions on Russian oligarchs accused of human rights violations, a law known as the Magnitsky Act, Putin responded by forbidding Americans from adopting Russian babies. The Magnitsky Act is thought to be preventing the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars. The Trump administration's potential willingness to drop sanctions against Russia is at the heart of the alleged connection between US President Donald Trump and Russia. Investigations into this are ongoing. The Senate Judiciary Committee is negotiating with Manafort and Trump Jr about testifying in a public hearing. The congressional committees, along with federal special counsel Robert Mueller, are examining Russia's influence in the US election and possible links to Trump's campaign. 'Secret back channel' Kushner will also face questions about reports he tried to set up a secret back channel to Moscow, as well as other contacts with top Russian officials and business leaders. Kushner said he first met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in Washington in April 2016 and shook hands. He said he did not recall phone calls with Kislyak between April and November of that year as reported by Reuters in May, had found no evidence of the calls in phone records and was skeptical they took place. In a meeting with Kislyak after the election, on December 1, Kushner said he articulated a desire for the United States to make a fresh start with Russia. "The fact that I was asking about ways to start a dialogue after Election Day should, of course, be viewed as strong evidence that I was not aware of one that existed before Election Day," he said. He said the Russian ambassador asked if there was a secure line in Trump's transition office to facilitate a discussion with Russian generals about Syria. There was not. Kushner suggested arranging something through an existing communications channel at the Russian embassy, but Kislyak indicated that was not possible and they agreed to follow up after the inauguration. "Nothing else occurred. I did not suggest a 'secret back channel.' I did not suggest an ongoing secret form of communication for then or for when the administration took office," Kushner said. "I did not raise the possibility of using the embassy or any other Russian facility for any purpose other than this one possible conversation in the transition period. We did not discuss sanctions." Kushner said he met on December 13 with Sergey Gorkov, the head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, because Kislyak`s insistence and because he had a "direct relationship" with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sanctions imposed by former President Barack Obama's administration were not discussed nor were Kushner`s business activities, Kushner said. "I did not know or have any contact with Mr Gorkov before that meeting, and I have had no reason to connect with him since," Kushner wrote. Kushner did not initially disclose any meetings with Russians on forms he filed to get a government security clearance. He has since revised those forms several times. He said the forms were initially submitted prematurely in error and omitted all foreign contacts he had had, not just those with Russian officials. (With agency inputs)

Trump son-in-law Kushner denies collusion despite 'private, confidential' meeting with Russian officials ???????

The Kremlin on Monday demanded that Washington unconditionally restore its access to diplomatic compounds in the United States, with a senior Russian official saying the row had &quot;almost&quot; been resolved following hours-long talks.

Russia is angry that Washington is still barring its diplomats from using two compounds in the states of New York and Maryland.

In December, then US president Barack Obama ordered the ban in response to Russian meddling in the US election. Multiple US intelligence agencies&nbsp;conclude that&nbsp;Russia interfered in the 2016 US election in order to help get Donald Trump elected president.

On December 29, 2016, President Obama said the compounds were &quot;used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes,&quot; and Obama gave them 24 hours to vacate the premises.

&quot;We consider it absolutely unacceptable to place conditions on the return of diplomatic property, we consider that it must be returned without any conditions and talking,&quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

When President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump met for the first time at the G20 summit in Hamburg this month, the Kremlin strongman raised the question of the diplomatic sites &quot;quite unambiguously,&quot; Peskov said. &quot;We still hope our American colleagues will show political wisdom and political will,&quot; he added.

In Hamburg US President Trump had said he intended to work with Russia on &quot;cybersecurity&quot;, which was met with criticism and even some shock, given that Russia conducted what The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/russia-hack-election-dnc.html?rref=collection%2Fnewseventcollection%2Frussian-election-hacking&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=politics&amp;region=rank&amp;module=package&amp;version=highlights&amp;contentPlacement=1&amp;pgtype=collection&amp;_r=0" target="_blank">New York Times</a> has called &quot;cyberespionage and information-warfare campaign devised to disrupt the 2016 election&quot;.&nbsp;

The row over the spy compounds was high on the agenda at talks in Washington on Monday between Thomas Shannon, the US State Department&#39;s number&nbsp;three, and Russia&#39;s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov. Those talks, which lasted three hours, had originally been scheduled for June, but Russia cancelled them at the time, citing new US sanctions linked to the conflict in Ukraine.

After the meeting Ryabkov, asked by journalists if the issue of the diplomatic compounds had been resolved, replied: &quot;Almost, almost&quot;. There was no word from the US side.

&nbsp;

&#39;Counter actions&#39;

At the time in December when&nbsp;Obama announced that he would&nbsp;shut&nbsp;down the compounds&nbsp;Moscow used for &quot;intelligence-related purposes,&quot;&nbsp;expelling&nbsp;35 Russian diplomats for spying, Putin held off from retaliating, saying he would wait to see how Trump reacted after he came into the White House.&nbsp;

But hope that Trump would follow up on campaign pledges to boost relations have fizzled as any ties to Moscow have become toxic for the White House amid a maelstrom of US investigations into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.&nbsp;

Now Russia has ratcheted up threats that it could belatedly take revenge by blocking a country house and a storage facility used by the US Embassy in Moscow.

&quot;If Washington decides not to solve this issue, we will have to take counter actions,&quot; Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova complained last week that the US was also refusing to issue visas for Russian diplomats to replace those expelled.

&nbsp;

Russia was given 24 hours to vacate the compound, and 35 diplomats were expelled, because it was used for 'intelligence-gathering'

The Kremlin on Monday demanded that Washington unconditionally restore its access to diplomatic compounds in the United States, with a senior Russian official saying the row had "almost" been resolved following hours-long talks. Russia is angry that Washington is still barring its diplomats from using two compounds in the states of New York and Maryland. In December, then US president Barack Obama ordered the ban in response to Russian meddling in the US election. Multiple US intelligence agencies conclude that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election in order to help get Donald Trump elected president. On December 29, 2016, President Obama said the compounds were "used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes," and Obama gave them 24 hours to vacate the premises. "We consider it absolutely unacceptable to place conditions on the return of diplomatic property, we consider that it must be returned without any conditions and talking," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. When President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump met for the first time at the G20 summit in Hamburg this month, the Kremlin strongman raised the question of the diplomatic sites "quite unambiguously," Peskov said. "We still hope our American colleagues will show political wisdom and political will," he added. In Hamburg US President Trump had said he intended to work with Russia on "cybersecurity", which was met with criticism and even some shock, given that Russia conducted what The New York Times has called "cyberespionage and information-warfare campaign devised to disrupt the 2016 election". The row over the spy compounds was high on the agenda at talks in Washington on Monday between Thomas Shannon, the US State Department's number three, and Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov. Those talks, which lasted three hours, had originally been scheduled for June, but Russia cancelled them at the time, citing new US sanctions linked to the conflict in Ukraine. After the meeting Ryabkov, asked by journalists if the issue of the diplomatic compounds had been resolved, replied: "Almost, almost". There was no word from the US side. 'Counter actions' At the time in December when Obama announced that he would shut down the compounds Moscow used for "intelligence-related purposes," expelling 35 Russian diplomats for spying, Putin held off from retaliating, saying he would wait to see how Trump reacted after he came into the White House. But hope that Trump would follow up on campaign pledges to boost relations have fizzled as any ties to Moscow have become toxic for the White House amid a maelstrom of US investigations into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Now Russia has ratcheted up threats that it could belatedly take revenge by blocking a country house and a storage facility used by the US Embassy in Moscow. "If Washington decides not to solve this issue, we will have to take counter actions," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova complained last week that the US was also refusing to issue visas for Russian diplomats to replace those expelled.

Russia says Trump 'almost' ready to hand over compound Obama withdrew for meddling in US election

President Donald Trump&#39;s son Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;agreed to meet with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the 2016 campaign after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the New York Times reported on Sunday (July 9), citing three advisers to the White House, Reuters reports.

Trump&#39;s then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also attended the meeting at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, two weeks after Trump won the Republican nomination, the Times reported.

The Times quoted a statement from Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;in which he acknowledged meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

&quot;After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms&nbsp;Clinton,&quot; the Times quoted Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;as saying. Clinton was the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.

The Times said Veselnitskaya then turned the conversation to the adoption of Russian children and a 2012 US&nbsp;law, known as the Magnitsky Act, blacklisting Russians linked to alleged human-rights abuses.

Vladimir Putin banned Americans from adopting&nbsp;Russian children because he was reportedly so outraged by Obama&#39;s passing of the Magnitsky Act. Putin also banned the former federal prosecutor,&nbsp;Indian-origin Preet Bharara, notorious for convicting Russian arms and drug dealers. Donald Trump originally asked Bharara to serve as a US attorney, then fired him in March.

&nbsp;

Changing his version

Donald Trump Jr altered his version of the story Sunday night,&nbsp;after The New York Times, citing three White House advisors and two other people with knowledge of the meeting, stated that the purpose of the meeting was for damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr claimed the information Veselnitskaya provided&nbsp;&quot;made no sense&quot; and was not &quot;meaningful&quot;.

Whether or not she produced any damaging information is not known, but she was expected to.

His full statement is here:

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
JUST IN: Donald Trump Jr. responds to reports that he met with Kremlin-linked lawyer during campaign <a href="https://t.co/5mqRX38Wio">pic.twitter.com/5mqRX38Wio</a>
&mdash; NBC News (@NBCNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/884164341649600512">July 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Three days after the meeting between Veselnitskaya&nbsp;and the Trump campaign, Julian Assange at WikiLeaks, the man the NSA, FBI and CIA claim with &quot;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/06/vladimir-putin-us-election-interference-report-donald-trump" target="_blank">high confidence</a>&quot; received hacked Clinton emails from&nbsp;Russian military intelligence, announced, &quot;We have upcoming leaks in relation to Hillary Clinton...We have emails pending publication, that is correct.&quot;

Assange maintains he did not receive any material from the Russians.

The meeting between the Trump campaign and&nbsp;Veselnitskaya&nbsp;was not <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/trump-campaign-leaders-met-kremlin-linked-lawyer-report.html">disclosed </a>until Jared Kushner filed an updated request for national-security clearance, after it became known that in his earlier report he failed to disclose other contacts with Russian officials. Kushner claimed it was an error. The punishment for submitting a false report, or concealing information, can be imprisonment.&nbsp;

President Trump was &quot;not aware of and did not attend&quot; the meeting reported by the Times, Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump&#39;s legal team, said in an emailed statement.

Here is a video of Donald Trump Jr on July 24, 2016, denying that Russia helped the Trump campaign by hacking the Democrats and releasing the emails.

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FLASHBACK: Don Jr. July 24, 2016. On the Clinton campaign&#39;s claims that the Russians were helping Trump: &quot;It&#39;s disgusitng. It&#39;s so phony.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/BSut2RwbOs">pic.twitter.com/BSut2RwbOs</a>
&mdash; Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) <a href="https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/884206457843068928">July 10, 2017</a></blockquote>
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(With agency inputs)

Whether she provided the damaging information is unknown, but WikiLeaks' Assange announced he possessed Clinton's hacked emails three days later

President Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr agreed to meet with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the 2016 campaign after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the New York Times reported on Sunday (July 9), citing three advisers to the White House, Reuters reports. Trump's then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also attended the meeting at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, two weeks after Trump won the Republican nomination, the Times reported. The Times quoted a statement from Donald Trump Jr in which he acknowledged meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. "After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms Clinton," the Times quoted Donald Trump Jr as saying. Clinton was the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. The Times said Veselnitskaya then turned the conversation to the adoption of Russian children and a 2012 US law, known as the Magnitsky Act, blacklisting Russians linked to alleged human-rights abuses. Vladimir Putin banned Americans from adopting Russian children because he was reportedly so outraged by Obama's passing of the Magnitsky Act. Putin also banned the former federal prosecutor, Indian-origin Preet Bharara, notorious for convicting Russian arms and drug dealers. Donald Trump originally asked Bharara to serve as a US attorney, then fired him in March. Changing his version Donald Trump Jr altered his version of the story Sunday night, after The New York Times, citing three White House advisors and two other people with knowledge of the meeting, stated that the purpose of the meeting was for damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr claimed the information Veselnitskaya provided "made no sense" and was not "meaningful". Whether or not she produced any damaging information is not known, but she was expected to. His full statement is here: JUST IN: Donald Trump Jr. responds to reports that he met with Kremlin-linked lawyer during campaign pic.twitter.com/5mqRX38Wio — NBC News (@NBCNews) July 9, 2017 × Three days after the meeting between Veselnitskaya and the Trump campaign, Julian Assange at WikiLeaks, the man the NSA, FBI and CIA claim with "high confidence" received hacked Clinton emails from Russian military intelligence, announced, "We have upcoming leaks in relation to Hillary Clinton...We have emails pending publication, that is correct." Assange maintains he did not receive any material from the Russians. The meeting between the Trump campaign and Veselnitskaya was not disclosed until Jared Kushner filed an updated request for national-security clearance, after it became known that in his earlier report he failed to disclose other contacts with Russian officials. Kushner claimed it was an error. The punishment for submitting a false report, or concealing information, can be imprisonment. President Trump was "not aware of and did not attend" the meeting reported by the Times, Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's legal team, said in an emailed statement. Here is a video of Donald Trump Jr on July 24, 2016, denying that Russia helped the Trump campaign by hacking the Democrats and releasing the emails. FLASHBACK: Don Jr. July 24, 2016. On the Clinton campaign's claims that the Russians were helping Trump: "It's disgusitng. It's so phony." pic.twitter.com/BSut2RwbOs — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 10, 2017 × (With agency inputs)

Trump Jr met Kremlin-linked lawyer who promised damaging info on Clinton during election

FBI Director James Comey confirmed for the first time Monday that the agency is investigating Russian interference in last year&#39;s presidential election and notably Moscow&#39;s possible collusion with President Donald Trump&#39;s campaign.

The FBI &quot;is investigating the Russian government&#39;s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election,&quot; Comey told a hearing by the House Intelligence Committee.

&quot;And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia&#39;s efforts,&quot; he said.

Watch&nbsp;FBI Director Comey describe&nbsp;his agency&#39;s assessment of the Russian motive behind hacking the Democrats.

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Comey: Russia&#39;s goals in 2016 were to hurt U.S. democracy, hurt Hillary Clinton and help Trump <a href="https://t.co/IF9lRnsNN1">pic.twitter.com/IF9lRnsNN1</a>
&mdash; Axios (@axios) <a href="https://twitter.com/axios/status/843855998179840001">March 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Background

Several members of Trump&#39;s team during the election, and official members of his administration once taking office, have lied about their contact with Russian officials.&nbsp;

Notably, National Securtity Adviser<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn-resigns-12377" target="_blank"> Michael Flynn</a>, who had to resign after misleading US Vice President Mike Pence about his contact with Russian ambassador to the United States,&nbsp;Sergey Kislyak.&nbsp;Flynn had promised Pence he had not discussed US&nbsp;sanctions with the Russians, but transcripts of intercepted communications, described by US&nbsp;officials, showed that the subject had come up in conversations between him and Kislyak.

Also, Attorney General <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-russia-sessions-may-be-blackmailed-by-kremlin-says-former-white-house-chief-ethics-officer-12984" target="_blank">Jeff Sessions</a>, who had to recuse himself from any investigation into Trump&#39;s alleged Russian connections after it came to light that he lied under oath about not having contact with any Russian officials, when actually he had also met at least twice with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

When asked in February of 2016&nbsp;if anyone from his staff had communicated with Russia during his election campaign, Mr&nbsp;Trump said: &ldquo;Nobody that I know of&rdquo;.&nbsp;

During the campaign, Roger Stone was a top Trump adviser for a time. He has since <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-ally-says-he-worked-with-assange-pre-election-to-spread-clinton-emails-in-abusive-twitter-tirade-13089" target="_blank">admitted </a>to having a &quot;perfectly legal back channel&quot; to Julian Assange, whose website WikiLeaks published hacked emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, which Trump repeatedly&nbsp;used during the campaign to cudgel Clinton.

It has also since come to light that Stone also had private contact with Guccifer 2.0, the identity of the person&nbsp;who hacked the Democrats. US intelligence says Guccifer 2.0 is&nbsp;really GRU, or Russian military intelligence. Thus, an official member of Trump&#39;s election campaign admitted to having communication with both WikiLeaks and the Russian hacker who hacked the Democrats.&nbsp;

Roger Stone has denied&nbsp;any wrongdoing.

Other members of Trump&#39;s team who lied about contact with Russian&nbsp;officials before the November 8, 2016 US election&nbsp;include: Paul Manafort, Carter Page, JD Gordon, and even Donald Trump himself.

Trump&#39;s son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner also met&nbsp;with Russian ambassador Segey Kislyak, but after the election.

Trump took to Twitter early in the morning before the&nbsp;House Intelligence Committee hearing to denounce the ongoing story between his election campaign and Russia, calling it &quot;FAKE NEWS&quot;. &nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The agency is investigating Russia's interference in the US election, but also whether or not Trump's team actively worked with them

FBI Director James Comey confirmed for the first time Monday that the agency is investigating Russian interference in last year's presidential election and notably Moscow's possible collusion with President Donald Trump's campaign. The FBI "is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election," Comey told a hearing by the House Intelligence Committee. "And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts," he said. Watch FBI Director Comey describe his agency's assessment of the Russian motive behind hacking the Democrats. Comey: Russia's goals in 2016 were to hurt U.S. democracy, hurt Hillary Clinton and help Trump pic.twitter.com/IF9lRnsNN1 — Axios (@axios) March 20, 2017 × Background Several members of Trump's team during the election, and official members of his administration once taking office, have lied about their contact with Russian officials. Notably, National Securtity Adviser Michael Flynn, who had to resign after misleading US Vice President Mike Pence about his contact with Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Flynn had promised Pence he had not discussed US sanctions with the Russians, but transcripts of intercepted communications, described by US officials, showed that the subject had come up in conversations between him and Kislyak. Also, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had to recuse himself from any investigation into Trump's alleged Russian connections after it came to light that he lied under oath about not having contact with any Russian officials, when actually he had also met at least twice with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak. When asked in February of 2016 if anyone from his staff had communicated with Russia during his election campaign, Mr Trump said: “Nobody that I know of”. During the campaign, Roger Stone was a top Trump adviser for a time. He has since admitted to having a "perfectly legal back channel" to Julian Assange, whose website WikiLeaks published hacked emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, which Trump repeatedly used during the campaign to cudgel Clinton. It has also since come to light that Stone also had private contact with Guccifer 2.0, the identity of the person who hacked the Democrats. US intelligence says Guccifer 2.0 is really GRU, or Russian military intelligence. Thus, an official member of Trump's election campaign admitted to having communication with both WikiLeaks and the Russian hacker who hacked the Democrats. Roger Stone has denied any wrongdoing. Other members of Trump's team who lied about contact with Russian officials before the November 8, 2016 US election include: Paul Manafort, Carter Page, JD Gordon, and even Donald Trump himself. Trump's son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner also met with Russian ambassador Segey Kislyak, but after the election. Trump took to Twitter early in the morning before the House Intelligence Committee hearing to denounce the ongoing story between his election campaign and Russia, calling it "FAKE NEWS". (WION with inputs from AFP)

FBI director confirms agency is probing Russian links to Trump campaign

Former Utah Republican Governor Jon Huntsman has accepted President Donald Trump&#39;s offer to be ambassador to Russia, an administration official said on Wednesday.

Huntsman served as ambassador to China under Democratic President Barack Obama before launching an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

The job, which requires Senate confirmation, would put Huntsman in Moscow at a time when US-Russian ties are very much in the spotlight.

The tensions peaked in December when Obama expelled 35 Russian suspected spies after US&nbsp;intelligence agencies concluded that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the 2016 election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump&#39;s favour. The Kremlin has denied the allegations.

Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which deteriorated under Obama over issues including Russia&#39;s annexation of Ukraine&#39;s Crimea and the two countries&#39; backing of opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.

President Trump is being officially <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-russia-investigation-cia-intelligence-235774" target="_blank">investigated </a>by&nbsp;US intelligence agencies over his ties to Russia&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

This comes after Democrats expelled 35 Russian suspected spies amid US intelligence's claim that Russia interfered with the 2016 US election

Former Utah Republican Governor Jon Huntsman has accepted President Donald Trump's offer to be ambassador to Russia, an administration official said on Wednesday. Huntsman served as ambassador to China under Democratic President Barack Obama before launching an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The job, which requires Senate confirmation, would put Huntsman in Moscow at a time when US-Russian ties are very much in the spotlight. The tensions peaked in December when Obama expelled 35 Russian suspected spies after US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the 2016 election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump's favour. The Kremlin has denied the allegations. Trump has said he wants to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which deteriorated under Obama over issues including Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and the two countries' backing of opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. President Trump is being officially investigated by US intelligence agencies over his ties to Russia (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Ex-Utah Governor Huntsman accepts Trump offer to be ambassador to Russia: Official

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Ex-Utah Governor Huntsman accepts Trump offer to be ambassador to Russia: Official