Kushner and Flynn Met With Russian Envoy in December, White House Says -
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT, MATTHEW ROSENBERG and MATT APUZZOMARCH 2, 2017
WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn, then Donald J. Trump’s incoming national security adviser, had a previously undisclosed meeting with the Russian ambassador in December to “establish a line of communication” between the new administration
and the Russian government, the White House said on Thursday.
American officials have also said that there were multiple telephone calls between Mr. Flynn
and Mr. Kislyak on Dec. 29, beginning shortly after Mr. Kislyak was summoned to the State Department and informed that, in retaliation for Russian election meddling, the United States was expelling 35 people suspected of being Russian intelligence operatives and imposing other sanctions.
But among Mr. Trump’s inner circle, it is Mr. Flynn who appears to have been the main interlocutor with the Russian envoy — the two were in contact during the campaign
and the transition, Mr. Kislyak and current and former American officials have said.
Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and now a senior adviser, also participated in the
meeting at Trump Tower with Mr. Flynn and Sergey I. Kislyak, the Russian ambassador.
Current and former American officials have said that Mr. Flynn had contacts with Mr. Kislyak during the campaign.
The Trump Tower meeting lasted 20 minutes, and Mr. Kushner has not met since with Mr. Kislyak, Ms. Hicks said.
American intelligence agencies routinely wiretap the phones of Russian diplomats, and transcripts of the calls showed
that Mr. Flynn urged the Russians not to respond, saying relations would improve once Mr. Trump was in office, according to the current and former officials.
