Even though former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates are the only two people to have been formally indicted so far in the Russia probe, the person who appears to be in the greatest legal jeopardy is clearly senior White House adviser Jared Kushner.
This could be Kushner’s last week as a member of the Trump administration. It could also be the week he finds out that Special Counsel Robert Mueller does indeed have an indictment with his name on it. At the same time, Kushner is also under a deadline to turn over emails related to the so-called “backdoor overture” to Russia and contacts with WikiLeaks that he initiated during the 2016 election:
Reminder: The Senate Judiciary Committee gave Jared Kushner a November 27 deadline to turn over the missing records—including the emails about WikiLeaks and a “backdoor overture” from Russia during the election. That’s tomorrow.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 26, 2017
If Kushner blows past the deadline and refuses to hand over the documents requested by the Senate Judiciary Committee, he’ll be in contempt of Congress, which could signal that he plans to leave the White House rather than comply with the committee. And there’s a second reason Kushner may be so reluctant to give up the emails in question: They might be far more damaging to him and the administration than being charged with contempt.
Legal experts have said for months that Kushner appears to be the central figure in the Russia scandal. And, much like the president, he may also have financial ties to Russian oligarchs and organized crime figures who have helped him finance real estate deals with laundered money.
Kushner’s father, Charles, served 14 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering in 2005. But now Jared is looking at decades behind bars if he refuses to cooperate with Mueller and agree to testify against Donald Trump.
This could indeed be the week that Jared Kushner leaves the White House. No matter what he does in that regard, there are some dark days ahead for him.
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org