Politics: KUSHNER SPEAKS: 'I did not collude'

'I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government.'

Jared Kushner has released details of his interactions with Russians over the past two years, confirming four contacts with Russians during Donald Trump's presidential campaign or after the election.

Kushner is a senior White House advisor and Trump's son-in-law. He released the 11-page statement before an interview with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday.

"I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government," Kushner said. "I had no improper contacts."

As the Wall Street Journal notes, one of the newly detailed meetings was previously undisclosed. In Kushner's statement, he reveals that he met Russian Ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak at an event in April 2016.

Kushner later met with Kislyak at Trump Tower in December 2016, after Trump won the presidential election. Michael Flynn was also at this meeting.

Kushner disputed in his statement that he suggested setting up a "secret back channel" with Russia during the meeting, as the Washington Post reported in May. But he acknowledged that he asked if the Trump transition team could use the Russian embassy to speak with Russian officials privately about Syria.

Kislyak "said he especially wanted to address US policy in Syria, and that he wanted to convey information from what he called his 'generals,'" Kushner wrote. "He asked if there was a secure line in the transition office to conduct a conversation. General Flynn or I explained that there were no such lines. I believed developing a thoughtful approach on Syria was a very high priority ... and I asked if they had an existing communications channel at his embassy we could use where they would be comfortable transmitting the information they wanted to relay to General Flynn."

"I did not suggest an on-going secret form of communication for then or for when the administration took office," Kushner added.

Almost two weeks later, Kushner met with Sergey Gorkov, a Russian banker who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kushner notes in his statement that he arranged the meeting at Kislyak's request.

The FBI is reportedly examining whether Gorkov suggested to Kushner that Russian banks could finance Trump associates' business ventures if US sanctions were lifted or relaxed, according to Reuters, citing a current US law enforcement official.

Kushner denied that in his statement, insisting that "there were no specific policies discussed" in his meeting with Gorkov.

"We had no discussion about the sanctions imposed by the Obama Administration," Kushner wrote, noting that the meeting lasted "twenty to twenty-five minutes."

"At no time was there any discussion about my companies, business transactions, real estate projects, loans, banking arrangements or any private business of any kind," he added.

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