Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images(TAORMINA, Italy) — President Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, repeatedly declined to answer media questions about reports that the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, sought backchannel communications with Russia prior to Trump’s taking office. But McMaster said, “generally speaking,” he would not be concerned about such an action.
“It’s not something that I’ve in any way been involved with or have any knowledge of,” McMaster said at a press briefing in Italy of the revelation that Kushner talked about communications in his discussion with Russia’s U.S. ambassador in December.
Asked whether he would be concerned as a general matter if someone in the administration or National Security Council sought backchannel communications with the Russian embassy, McMaster said he would not.
“No, we have backchannel communications with a number of countries. So, generally speaking about backchannel communications, what that allows you to do is to communicate in a discreet manner,” McMaster said.
Pressed in a follow-up question about whether he has any concerns at all about Kushner’s talking to the Russian ambassador about setting up such communications, McMaster stayed silent and simply did not respond.
Backchanneling is a practice at times used by government officials, but Kushner was not yet a government employee at the time of his contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December.
Another senior administration official, Chief Economic Adviser Gary Cohn, said the topic of Kushner and his relationship to Russia was not raised at the G7 summit in Italy, which ended on Saturday.
“Never came up,” Cohn said when asked if the subject were discussed.
He also said issues around Russia, while discussed at the G7, were not raised in any of the president’s bilateral meetings.
“Russia as a country came up a lot. It was part of the communique; it was discussed many times, Russia as a country,” Cohn said. “Russia never came up in the bilaterals.”
Trump held no press conferences on trip
Asked about the absence of any press conferences by Trump during the trip, Cohn said the president has been very busy with a “robust schedule” and that he has “worked nonstop.”
When reporters said other world leaders are making time to hold press briefings, Cohn said, “I don’t know that that’s true.”
Paris climate deal
Cohn, asked to explain his comment Friday that the president’s view on the Paris climate accords is evolving, said Trump is “continuously talking to people about the issue to gain more knowledge about the issue.”
‘Amazing deals’
Speaking broadly speaking about Trump’s foreign trip, Cohn said the “the president was able to make some of the most amazing deals that have been made by an administration ever.”
Cohn specifically cited the arms deal and private business deals announced in Saudi Arabia, saying they amount to close to a half-trillion dollars and that he’s never seen so many deals come together at once.
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