WASHINGTON — President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, met this month with investigators working for Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, and answered questions about a meeting with a Russian ambassador during the presidential transition, according to a person briefed on the investigation.
The questions focused on a meeting in December between Mr. Kushner, the ambassador and Michael T. Flynn, who at the time was the president’s incoming national security adviser, the person said on Wednesday.
Prosecutors also asked Mr. Kushner about other interactions between Mr. Flynn and the Russian government, the person briefed on the investigation said. Mr. Flynn was fired in February after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations during the transition with Sergey I. Kislyak, who was then the Russian ambassador to the United States.
Reached for comment on Wednesday night, Mr. Kushner’s lawyer, Abbe D. Lowell, said, “Mr. Kushner has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and will continue to do so.” The special counsel’s interview of Mr. Kushner was first reported by CNN.
Mr. Mueller is investigating whether anyone around Mr. Trump worked with Russian officials to try to influence the presidential election. His prosecutors have interviewed many White House officials. The White House has said that Mr. Trump expects everyone to cooperate.
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The interview does not mean Mr. Kushner is a particular focus of the investigation. Defense lawyers typically do not allow such interviews if they believe that their clients are the target of an investigation.
The interview with Mr. Kushner would have been important to Mr. Mueller, who is building a case against Mr. Flynn. A grand jury in Washington has subpoenaed documents and testimony from those around Mr. Flynn. Prosecutors are investigating his business deals, his foreign lobbying and whether he lied on government forms.
Mr. Flynn recently cut ties with Mr. Trump’s legal team, a sign that he was considering cooperating with the government.
The December meeting at Trump Tower was intended to “establish a line of communication” between the new administration and the Russian government, the White House has said. Mr. Flynn was the presidential transition team’s primary interlocutor with Mr. Kislyak. Mr. Kushner coordinated the transition team’s foreign contacts.
At that meeting, the men discussed establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump team and Moscow to discuss strategy in Syria and other policy issues. The idea was to have Mr. Flynn speak with a senior military official in Moscow, but the channel was never set up.
The special counsel’s interview of Mr. Kushner lasted less than an hour and did not touch on the range of topics Mr. Mueller is investigating. That leaves open the possibility that Mr. Kushner could be interviewed again.
Ty Cobb, a White House lawyer, has said that Mr. Flynn has no information to provide prosecutors that can hurt the president. And Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers have sought to play down news of Mr. Flynn’s potential cooperation.
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