CNN’s Erin Burnett Grills WH Spox Over Jared Kushner: Has He Used His Role to ‘Benefit Himself’?

CNN’s Erin Burnett repeatedly confronted White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah tonight over Jared Kushner losing top secret clearance.

Shah started out by saying he won’t be commenting on any security clearance issues, but Burnett pressed and noted how significant a role Kushner has in the White House.

“Jared Kushner is at the center, Raj, of some of the biggest decisions impacting Americans right now,” she said. “He can’t do his job without top security clearance. So what will happen to him now?”

Shah declined to respond to her “speculation,” saying John Kelly still has “full confidence” in Kushner’s ability to do his job.

Burnett asked again how exactly Kushner’s supposed to do his job without that level of clearance. He declined to comment on the clearance issue again before she moved onto the bombshell report that foreign officials have talked about “manipulating” Kushner. Which Shah also declined to comment on.

He instead criticized how such information is being leaked, saying there are reports in places like The Washington Post and CNN that are just not true.

Burnett then directly asked him, “Because of who Jared Kushner is and the central role that he holds, can you promise that he did not, at any time, use his role with President Trump to try to bail out his own personal finances?”

Shah again declined to specifically comment again and said they’re cooperating with the special counsel, leading to Burnett asking again if Kushner’s ever used his role “to benefit himself.”

You can watch how the exchange unfolded above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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