Senate Committee To Grill Jared Kushner On Midtown Tower Financing

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Donald Trump's son-in-law is expected to be grilled about Russian connections to his family's massive Midtown Manhattan office building, according to a report.

When he's questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee that's looking into interactions with Russian delegates during Trump's presidential campaign, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner will be asked about securing financing from a Russian bank for 666 Fifth Avenue, the New York Times reported.

Members of the intel committee are planning to ask Kushner about a meeting with Sergey Gorkov, the chief of Russian state-controlled bank Vnesheconombank, the Times reported. Investigators are planning to ask Kushner if he discussed securing financing for any buildings owned by Kushner Companies — including 666 Fifth Avenue.

Kushner Companies purchased the building in 2007 for $1.8 billion.

The United States placed sanctions on Vnesheconombank when Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the territory of Crimea from Ukraine, the Times reported. The bank's supervisory board is controlled by Putin's cronies and Gorkov himself was appointed to his position by Putin, CNN reported.

Gorkov is also a graduate of the the Russian academy of Federal Security Service, a training ground for Russia's intelligence and security agencies, CNN reported.

Representatives for both the White House and Gorkov have shot down rumors that the banker and Kushner discussed 666 Fifth Avenue during their meeting, the Times reported. White House Spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the Times, “It really wasn’t much of a conversation."

During a briefing this week, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer downplayed Kushner's meetings with Russian officials such as Gorkov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Spicer also claimed that Kushner himself volunteered to questioning by the Senate Intelligence Committee in order to calm the "media frenzy" surrounding an investigation into the Trump Campaign's ties to Russia.

As one of Trump's senior advisers during the campaign, Kushner often served as a "conduit" between the campaign and foreign leaders, Spicer said. Kushner sees the upcoming conversation with the intelligence committee as a way to clarify his role, Spicer said.

On Wednesday China's Anbang Insurance Group backed out of a reported $4 billion development deal with Kushner Companies for 666 Fifth Avenue, the Associated Press reported.

In addition to serving as senior adviser to the president, Kushner is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and the couple have three children together.

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