A US lawmaker has demanded the revocation of the security clearance for President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner for his refusal to disclose numerous contacts with foreign officials.
"Kushner's security clearance should absolutely be suspended," said California Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu during an interview with national broadcaster MSNBC on Saturday.
The legislator harshly criticized Kushner for failing to unveil numerous contacts he reportedly made with Russian officials in the months leading up to Trump's inauguration.
The development came after The New York Times reported earlier this month about the omissions from Kushner's national security questionnaire, including meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, CEO of the Russian state-owned bank Sergey Gorkov, as well as others.
"I have filled out these forms before. They are known as SF86 forms. One of the main reasons that you have this form is to figure out if this person had contacts with foreign officials," Lieu said in the interview.
The lawmaker further insisted that Kushner made the omissions "intentionally" in light of the persisting scandal regarding contacts of several top Trump administration officials and aids with Russian authorities in months leading into Trump’s presidency.
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"Jared Kushner intentionally omitted his various contacts and he knew these contacts were impertinent because of the whole Russia scandal that has been developing. So he lied. And he needs to have his security clearance revoked," he said.
Kushner's attorney, however, has reportedly stated that the omissions were erroneously made and that the White House had informed the FBI the day after the submission that Kushner would provide supplemental information to the form.