Donald Trump 'very proud' of Jared Kushner for being transparent about Russia interactions

Washington: President Donald Trump is “proud” of his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner for being transparent about his interaction with Russians and laying out everything clearly to expose the “witch hunt” that the probe has been, a White House official has said. “The President was very proud of Jared for voluntarily going to the Hill and being very transparent with every interaction that he’s had,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters onboard the Air Force One with the president on Monday. Her remarks came hours after Kushner went to Capitol Hill to meet investigators of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to respond to their questions on his interaction with foreign governments, particularly the Russians. “He (Trump) thought Jared did a great job and was very glad that he was able to go through that process and lay everything out and I think show the members of that committee, as well as everybody else, what a witch hunt and hoax this whole thing is,” she said. Sander said that they will continue pushing forward and focus on things the American people actually care about and Russia is not one of them. [caption id=“attachment_3852631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Jared Kushner. AP[/caption] Kushner would testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday after submitting an 11-page statement to the committee’s staff on Monday in which he flatly denied colluding with Russia during the 2016 election and he had no “improper” contacts with the Russian officials. Talking to the press at the White House after the meeting, he said that he is innocent and has done nothing wrong. “Let me be very clear, I did not collude with Russia, nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so. I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds for my businesses, and I have been fully transparent in providing all requested information,” Kushner said. He said when his father-in-law decided to run for president, he served his campaign the best he could, because he believes in him and his ability to improve the lives of all Americans. “And now, serving the president and the people of the United States has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work on important matters such as the Middle East peace and reinvigorating America’s innovative spirit. Every day, I come to work with enthusiasm and excitement for what can be,” Kushner said. “I have not sought the spotlight. First in business, and now in public service, I have always focused on setting and achieving goals and have left it to others to work on media and public perception,” he added. The senior White House adviser said he has been consistently saying that he was eager to share any information he has with the investigating bodies ever since the allegations were raised against him. “The record and documents I have voluntarily provided will show that all of my actions were proper and occurred in the normal course of events of a very unique campaign,” Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, said. However, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) termed Kushner claiming to be transparent by going to the Senate is laughable. “Once again, the Trump team is laughably trying to redefine transparency as disclosing information after you have been caught lying,” DNC deputy Communications Director Adrienne Watson said. “Kushner’s clearance should be denied and he should lose his job,” he said.