The Special Counsel appointed to oversee the probe into possible ties between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia is investigating the business dealings of Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, according to reports.

Robert Mueller, the man tasked with taking over the investigation following the firing of former FBI Director James Comey by Mr Trump, also reportedly has FBI agents and federal prosecutors examining the financial dealings of a number of others linked to Mr Trump, including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Mr Kushner was reportedly already a “person of interest” for FBI investigators over his meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak in December - prior to Mr Trump taking office. In that meeting Mr Kushner was said to have suggested setting up a backchannel of communication with Moscow at a Russian diplomatic facility in the US.

Mr Kushner also had a pre-Inauguration meeting with the head of state-owned Russian development bank Vnesheconombank - Sergei Gorkov. The bank had sanctions imposed upon it after Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Mr Kushner was still head of his family’s real estate business at the time of the meeting with Mr Gorkov. He only stepped down from the position after Mr Trump took office and he was appointed his father-in-law’s senior advisor.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

The Russian banker has said the meeting was to discuss business matters with Mr Kushner, whose family company was looking for financing help on a recent real estate acquisition, however the White House has said that it was a pre-inauguration diplomatic meeting and was unrelated to any business matters.

The latest reports were published in The Washington Post - citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter - as were the first details about the meetings with Mr Kislyak and Mr Gorkov.

“We do not know what this report refers to,” Jamie Gorelick, a lawyer for Mr Kushner, told the newspaper referring to the possible investigation of Mr Kushner's business dealings.

“It would be standard practice for the Special Counsel to examine financial records to look for anything related to Russia. Mr Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about Russia-related matters. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry.”

Mr Kushner has agreed to discuss his Russian contacts with the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is conducting one of several investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and the ties between Mr Trump's campaign team and Russia.

Mr Mueller's investigation is still in its early stages, and it is unclear whether any criminal charges will brought.

The reports over Mr Kushner follow the revelation that Mr Mueller may also be investigating President Trump for possible obstruction of justice over the firing of My Comey, a suggestion Mr Trump hit out at on Twitter.

“They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story. Nice,” Mr Trump wrote on Thursday.

“You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history – led by some very bad and conflicted people!” he added.

According to reports, since Mr Comey’s firing on 9 May, Mr Mueller, the special prosecutor, has started to look at Mr Trump’s actions as part of the wider investigation into alleged Russia interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

The move would mark a dramatic shift in the course of the investigation, which Mr Trump has so far sought to dismiss and brush away.

Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, Mike Rogers, the head of the National Security Agency, and Richard Ledgett, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency (NSA), had agreed to be interviewed by Mr Mueller’s investigators as early as this week.

Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Mr Trump’s legal team, hasdenounced the report, saying: “The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal.”

Last week, Mr Comey testified in a Senate hearing that he believed he was fired because of the Russia investigation. Mr Comey also said he had told Mr Trump on a number of occasions that he personally was not under investigation.

“I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that,” he said.

Mr Trump had previously told a television reporter that one of the reasons he had fired the 56-year-old was because of the ongoing probe into possible collusion with Russia – something the President said was nothing more than “fake news” being generated by those angry about his election victory.

“When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said ‘You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story, it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should’ve won’,” Mr Trump told NBC.

Mr Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he believed Mr Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into former National Security Adviser, Mr Flynn, that was part of the broader Russia investigation.

Mr Comey would not say in his testimony whether he thought the President sought to obstruct justice, but added it would be up to special counsel Mr Mueller “to sort that out”.

The administration initially gave differing reasons for his dismissal, including that he had lost the confidence of the FBI, before Mr Trump cited the Russia issue.

Clearly still having the issue on his mind, Mr Trump tweeted again hours after his first outburst, suggesting that Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the election, should be under investigation instead of him.

“Why is that Hillary Clintons family and Dems dealings with Russia are not looked at, but my non-dealings are?" the President tweeted, adding in a second missive, "Crooked H destroyed phones w/ hammer, 'bleached' emails, & had husband meet w/AG days before she was cleared- & they talk about obstruction?"

Several US congressional committees are also looking into the question of Russian election interference and possible Trump campaign collusion.

On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence's office said he had hired a lawyer known for defending government officials in high-profile investigations to help Mr Pence through the various probes

Mr Pence chose Richard Cullen, chairman of law firm McGuireWoods, a former US federal prosecutor who has long ties to former former FBI director Mr Comey

Mr Cullen represents former FIFA President Sepp Blatter in the corruption probe into world soccer's governing body. He represented Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican and former majority leader of the US House of Representatives, during the investigation into corrupt Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Mr DeLay was not charged.

Mr Pence had been looking at hiring his own counsel for several weeks, and made his decision earlier this week after interviewing several candidates, his office said.

"The vice president is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the president's agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter," Pence spokesman Jarrod Agen said in a statement.

As for Mr Trump, while a sitting president is unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for impeachment. Any such step would face a steep hurdle as it would require approval by the US House of Representatives, which is controlled by Mr Trump’s fellow Republicans.

Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence Committee – one of the bodies looking at the issue of Russian meddling – said he would not comment on whether Mr Mueller was looking at possible obstruction of justice by Mr Trump but said Congress “certainly needs to get to the bottom” of the issue.