Report: Trump's legal team recommended Kushner step down as senior adviser over Russia


Back in June, members of President Trump's legal team were worried about his son-in-law Jared Kushner having had several known meetings with Russians, and suggested he resign from his role as senior adviser, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Trump didn't think Kushner did anything wrong, and even though Kushner was being scrutinized as part of the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, he saw no need for his son-in-law to step down, the Journal said. It's unclear which attorneys made the recommendation that Kushner resign, but former lead attorney Marc Kasowitz told the Journal he never discussed this and was not aware of any other attorney thinking this way. The lawyers' press aides reportedly had talking points ready to explain Kushner's departure.
Kushner had at least four known meetings with Kremlin-linked Russians prior to Trump's inauguration, including one in June 2016 at Trump Tower, also attended by his brother-in-law Donald Trump Jr. and Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, after Trump Jr. had been promised compromising information on Hillary Clinton. Kushner has denied colluding with any Russians in an attempt to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of his father-in-law.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resort
Under the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
Sudoku hard: July 10, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities