Prosecutors Ask Jared Kushner If Trump Knew He Lost 2020 Election

AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law who held position in the West Wing, was reportedly questioned before a federal grand jury in recent weeks about Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The report by New York Times journalists Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman is the latest indication that federal prosecutors continue to look at charging the former president for his role efforts to stay in power and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“The line of questioning suggests prosecutors are trying to establish whether Mr. Trump was acting with corrupt intent as he sought to remain in power — essentially that his efforts were knowingly based on a lie — evidence that could substantially bolster any case they might decide to bring against him,” the Times reported, citing “four people briefed on the matter.”

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s behavior following his loss in the 2020 election “continues to pierce the layers closest to Mr. Trump,” added the report.

The Times said that Ivanka Trump and Steve Bannon have also been subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury. The Times noted that Smith’s ongoing investigation follows the House Jan. 6 Committee referring several potential charges to the DOJ:

The question of Mr. Trump’s intent could be important in strengthening the hand of prosecutors if they decide to charge Mr. Trump in the case. It is not known what charges they might be considering, but the House select committee, controlled by Democrats, referred a number of possible charges to the Justice Department last year, including inciting an insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstructing an act of Congress.

Multiple other witnesses, including former Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, are already on record saying that Trump had either acknowledged he had lost the 2020 election to them or that he planned to claim victory regardless of the outcome.

Read the full Times report here.