Kushner spent 7 hours with Mueller investigators last month

This was Kushner's second interview with Mueller's team.

May 23, 2018, 4:11 PM

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, spent nearly seven hours with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team earlier this year for a second interview, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed Wednesday to ABC News.

The source added that, in the two times Kushner has met with investigators, it was in the role of witness – not as a target. The first interview, which happened in late 2017, largely dealt with Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn., according to the source.

The second meeting, which occurred in April of this year, focused on the campaign, the transition and other topics, including the circumstances of the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, the source said, adding that there were no questions about Kushner’s financial dealings or his family business.

Appearing on CNN Wednesday evening, Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said “Kushner was there in the campaign, he was there in the transition, and he worked in the White House when events occurred after the inauguration that is of interest to the counsel. They asked him questions, he answered every single one. It was thorough.”

Lowell said that Kushner spent "a total of over nine hours with them from November and then in April."

Lowell declined to say whether Kushner is a subject, witness, or target of Mueller’s investigation, and said during the interview that he "didn't ask," though he did assert that “the special counsel, nor any other prosecutors, indicated that they have any intention to believe that Mr. Kushner has done anything that would remotely merit being charged.”

The news of the Mueller interview comes as ABC News has learned Kushner has been granted a permanent security clearance on Wednesday after a lengthy review by the White House and FBI, according to a source familiar with the matter.

PHOTO: Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting in Washington, June 21, 2017.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting in Washington, June 21, 2017.
Andrew Harnik/AP, FILE

Lowell confirmed the change in Kushner's security status, which capped a nearly 18- month review of his security application, that was held up after Kushner failed to disclose contacts he had with foreign officials – including Russians – as required by law.

“With respect to the news about his clearances, as we stated before, his application was properly submitted, reviewed by numerous career officials and underwent the normal process,” Lowell said in a statement.

PHOTO: White House senior adviser Jared Kushner speaks during an event on prison reform in the East Room of the White House, May 18, 2018, in Washington.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner speaks during an event on prison reform in the East Room of the White House, May 18, 2018, in Washington.
Susan Walsh/AP

While Lowell would not reveal the specific clearance classification Kushner has been given, he said Kushner has access to “all the material that he got in the past in order to do the job the president has asked him to do.”

In February, Kushner was stripped of his temporary, high-level security clearance after White House chief of staff John Kelly imposed new rules designed to crack down on West Wing staff with long-pending background investigations, sources told ABC News at the time.

Another attorney for Kushner, Jamie Gorelick, said that Kushner's security clearance form, known as an SF-86, was "prematurely submitted" and that "among other errors, [it] did not list any contacts with foreign government officials."

Kushner later updated the questionnaire multiple times to account for all relevant meetings, including "over 100 calls or meetings with representatives of more than 20 countries," Gorelick told ABC News.

It was not immediately clear whether Kushner had access to some classified material in the months since his clearance was downgraded. At the time, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that Kushner's downgraded clearance may still allow him access to sensitive information, but details were never clarified.

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