Jared Kushner
Jared KushnerReuters

Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, is looking into Jared Kushner’s interactions with foreign leaders during the presidential transition, including his involvement in Israel’s attempts to block UN Resolution 2334 last December, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, Mueller’s investigators have asked witnesses questions about the involvement of Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, in a controversy over the UN resolution that condemned Israel’s construction in Judea and Samaria, people with knowledge of the investigation said.

UN Resolution 2334 passed at the UN Security Council on December 23 after the U.S., in the last days of the Obama administration, refused to veto it.

Israeli officials had asked the incoming Trump administration to intervene to help block the resolution. Trump posted a Facebook message the day before the UN vote—after he had been elected but before he had assumed office—saying the resolution put the Israelis in a difficult position and should be vetoed.

Trump also held a phone conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, whose government had written a draft of the resolution. Egypt proceeded to pull the resolution, but it passed the following day after several other countries resubmitted it.

Israeli officials said at the time that they began reaching out to senior leaders in the Trump transition team, noted the Wall Street Journal. Among those involved were Mr. Kushner and political strategist Stephen Bannon, according to people briefed on the exchanges.

The White House referred questions to Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, and to a White House lawyer.

While the motivation for the Mueller team’s questions about the UN is unclear, the report noted, inquiries do not necessarily indicate suspicion.

Kushner has become one of key figures in the political frenzy surrounding Trump’s campaign and Russia, particularly after it came to light that Kushner attended the meeting between Donald Trump Jr., former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a woman described as a Russian government lawyer offering damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Even before news of Kushner's presence at the meeting with the Russian lawyer was made public, the Senate Intelligence Committee had indicated that Kushner is one of many within the Trump administration it planned to question. Kushner has always maintained a willingness to cooperate.

In July, the president’s son-in-law gave an interview behind closed doors with Senate staffers investigating Russian meddling in the presidential race. He later made clear that all of his actions in the 2016 campaign were proper and that he did not collude with Russia during the presidential campaign.