Story highlights "We have to make the assumption that Jared Kushner is a great American," said Homeland Security secretary Kelly

Sen. Jon Tester pushed Kelly to get to the bottom of the situation

Washington (CNN) Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Tuesday he sees no issue with White House adviser and the President's son-in-law Jared Kushner setting up a back channel with Russia, saying he assumes Kushner is a "great American."

Kelly left open the door that something improper could have happened, and said he hopes investigations by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller and congressional committees will uncover it if that is the case.

Kelly was testifying before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he was grilled by Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester over Kelly's comments last month that "any channel of communication, back or otherwise, with a country like Russia is a good thing,"

At the time, Kelly was responding to a report that Kushner may have discussed setting up a secret channel for communications with Russia's ambassador during the presidential transition.

Tester pushed back on Kelly saying then that it wasn't a big deal.

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