Washington (CNN) A federal judge is questioning the White House's role in reviewing government documents related to a freedom-of-information lawsuit for records concerning President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.

The nonprofit watchdog organization Democracy Forward is suing agencies including US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of Homeland Security for information that could indicate whether Kushner had any involvement in discussions about the extension of a program offering foreigners who invest in US businesses, including real estate, visas and a path to a US green card. The Kushner family's real estate company has used the program to court investors.

USCIS told Democracy Forward in a letter sent last week that more than 100 pages of responsive records were referred to the White House for review.

At a hearing for the lawsuit Wednesday, Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said she found the referral unusual.

"The White House has said, 'We've got this. We'll take it from here,' but I don't think that's how it normally works," Chutkan said.

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