WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump
on Friday said he knew nothing about son-in-law and White House
adviser Jared Kushner's use of the WhatsApp encrypted messaging
tool, a day after a top U.S. Democratic congressman questioned
the unofficial communications.
On Thursday, U.S. House of Representatives Oversight
Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings asked the White House about
Kushner's use of the unofficial messaging application as part of
his government work.
In a letter to the White House, seen by Reuters, Cummings
said Kushner's lawyer had told lawmakers about his WhatsApp use
for official duties, a move that would violate current law
prohibiting White House officials from using non-official
electronic messaging accounts.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House before
departing for Mar-A-Lago, his private club in Florida, for the
weekend, denied any knowledge of Kushner's unofficial
communications.
"I know nothing about it. I've never heard that, I've never
heard about it," the Republican president said.
Cummings in his letter on Thursday said Kushner lawyer Abbe
Lowell also told Congress that Ivanka Trump - the president's
daughter, Kushner's wife and also a top White House adviser -
continued to use a personal email account for official business.
That would also violate the Presidential Records Act.
Lowell, in a separate letter to Cummings, called the
Democratic committee chairman's characterisation of earlier
comments "not completely accurate."
The lawyer denied telling Congress members Kushner had
communicated through any app with foreign "leaders" or
"officials" but said that instead Kushner had used such apps for
communicating with "some people," whom he did not specify.
Lowell also denied saying that Ivanka Trump continued to
receive emails related to official business on a personal
account. He said Ivanka Trump "always forwards official business
to her White House account."
In the 2016 presidential race, Trump railed against his
Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for her use of a private
email server while serving as secretary of state, inspiring
chants at his rallies of "lock her up."
The FBI and the
Department of Justice investigated Clinton but brought no
charges.
Kushner's communications, particularly with foreign leaders,
have been under scrutiny since the presidential campaign, and
questions have been raised about his security clearance.
WhatsApp is owned by Facebook Inc.