CNN reported in October that Mr. Kushner had communicated with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, using WhatsApp. Asked if Mr. Kushner had been cleared to use the messaging app to communicate with foreign leaders, Mr. Lowell recommended that the lawmakers ask the National Security Council and the White House, Mr. Cummings said. Mr. Lowell, though, said that was oversimplifying his response. Since then, he said, “she always forwards official business to her White House account.”Mr. Cummings’s committee is separately investigating the circumstances under which Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump, and other administration officials, received security clearances. The New York Times reported last month that Mr. Trump had personally intervened to secure a top-secret clearance for Mr. Kushner despite legal and national security concerns raised by his advisers.

Source: New York Times March 21, 2019 17:03 UTC