U.S. President Donald Trump said he never spoke to his longtime advisor Roger Stone about WikiLeaks and stolen Democratic emails posted by the site, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
Stone was arrested last week on multiple charges that included lying to Congress about his communications with Trump campaign officials regarding stolen emails published on WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential election. Stone pleaded not guilty to those charges.
The arrest was a major development in special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation of Russian meddling in that election.
When asked by the Times if he ever spoke to Stone about WikiLeaks, the president answered: “No, I didn’t. I never did.” He also denied directing anyone to talk to Stone about WikiLeaks.
Trump also said he did not help Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior advisor, to obtain top-secret government clearance.
NBC News reported last week that Kushner’s clearance application was turned down by security specialists amid concerns about foreign influence over him. However, NBC reported, other more powerful authorities overruled those considerations and eventually granted Kushner clearance.
The president’s son-in-law has long denied access to sensitive information amid concerns over his relationship with foreign governments.
Trump’s denials to the Times are noteworthy as there are no widespread claims of his involvement in either the Stone or Kushner cases, political watchers say.
