America's UN envoy Nikki Haley says she would never have used Russian embassy to make calls to Kremlin
Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is accused of wanting to use the Russian embassy as a backchannel
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley would not confirm reports that senior White House aide Jared Kushner wanted to use the Russian embassy to securely communicate with the Kremlin before Donald Trump took office, but she "wouldn't do that" herself.
Mr Kushner, the President's son-in-law, allegedly told Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kisylak that wanted a back channel of communication with Moscow during Mr Trump's transition into office. Mr Kushner was a private citizen at the time.
“I don't know that to be fact. So I can't sit there and agree with an assumption that you're saying," said Ms Haley to CNN.
She said she was "not in that inner circle in the administration" but that she and Mr Kushner continue to do their jobs. "Until we see facts, it's hard to respond to something like that," she added.
Ms Haley is one of the few Trump administration officials who appears to not be involved in the Russia probe and has said in the past to MSNBC that Mr Kushner is "a very calm, stable voice" in the White House.
Mr Kushner has come under increased scrutiny by the FBI in the bureau's investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign team and Russia as well as the Kremlin's possible interference into the 2016 US election.
Ms Haley had come to his defence, noting that Mr Kushner "said that he will totally comply with the investigation and give every ounce of information that they need. And I think we can expect that."
He is not the sole focus of the investigation, but his meetings with Mr Kislyak and a Russian bank officer are being investigated, as the Washington Post has reported just a few weeks after former FBI Director James Comey was fired unexpectedly by Mr Trump.
The Democratic National Committee, victim of a computer hacking attack during the election, said Mr Kushner's security clearance should be put on hold until the FBI is done investigating him.
The House and Senate intelligence committees are also running parallel investigations. Mr Comey is set to testify on the matter before the Senate on 8 June.
No testimony date for Mr Kushner, or even if there will a public testimony, has been announced as yet.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments