Jared Kushner says investigations into Russian interference worse for democracy than meddling was
The president's son-in-law spoke out about the Mueller probe at a TIME event.
White House senior adviser and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner made the case that the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election have been “way more harmful” to American democracy than Russia’s campaign to meddle in the election.
“If you look at what Russia did, buying some Facebook ads to try and sow dissent and it’s a terrible thing but I think the investigations and the speculation that’s happened for the last two years has had a much harsher impact on our democracy than a couple of Facebook ads,” Kushner said, downplaying Russia’s concerted effort to sway the election in then-candidate Trump’s favor.
Kushner made the remarks an interview at the TIME 100 Summit Tuesday.
Kushner expressed a sense of vindication that – after sitting for what he said was approximately 9 hours sitting for interviews with the special counsel’s office and multiple interviews with Congressional investigators – Mueller’s investigators did not find evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“Everything that the president’s been saying everything that I’ve been saying for two years has now been fully authenticated,” Kushner said.
While the special counsel did not find evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, Mueller’s report said investigators did find "numerous links — i.e. contacts — between Trump campaign officials and individuals having or claiming to have ties to the Russian government" and a concerted effort on Russia’s part to meddle in the campaign.
Kushner also said he will presenting the president with a “detailed proposal” on immigration within the next week or two.
“My father in law asked me to work on this topic, it’s not one I came to Washington to work on,” he said, and made the case that the president’s views on the topic have been portrayed in an overly negative light.
“I do believe the president’s position on immigration has been defined by his opponents as what he’s against as opposed to what he’s for,” Kushner said.
The Trump administration’s approach to the border has been largely characterized by the president’s persistent push to build a southern border wall and saw the most public backlash following the implementation of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy that resulted in thousands of family separations.
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