Jared Kushner to be questioned over ties to Russia

The White House has confirmed that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, one his most senior advisers, will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The committee is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, and looking into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that Kushner is willing to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by Republican Senator Richard Burr.

"Throughout the campaign and the transition, Jared served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials ... and so, given this role, he volunteered to speak with Chairman Burr's committee," Spicer told reporters.

Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, has



acknowledged meeting the Russian ambassador to Washington last December. 

And on Monday, a Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russia's incursion into Ukraine disclosed that its executives had met Kushner during the election campaign.

The Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) said in a statement that as part of it preparing a new strategy, its executives met representatives of financial institutes in Europe, Asia and America.

It said meetings took place "with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies," the Kushner family's real-estate firm.

VEB declined to say where the meetings took place or the dates. There was no immediate comment from Kushner.