Kushner Doesn’t Want To Give Up His Security Clearance As John Kelly Cracks Down: Report

Kushner has reportedly become frustrated with Kelly’s new effort, saying he felt personally targeted by the memo, the Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The White House, addressing questions about Kushner’s future clearance, said Tuesday his work would be unaffected by the overhaul.

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Trump Again Presses Jeff Sessions Over Russia Probe

Mr. Sessions, who advised Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign, has repeatedly come under fire from the president after having recused himself from overseeing the Russia investigation last year. That decision led to the appointment of special counsel

Robert Mueller,

after Mr. Trump fired

James Comey

as Federal Bureau of Investigation director last May. That special counsel’s probe, which is examining Russian interference in the 2016 election and any links to the Trump campaign, has ensnared several top Trump campaign associates.

In his tweet Wednesday, it wasn’t clear what “Dem crimes” Mr. Trump was alleging, but he has previously criticized the Justice Department for not pursuing a prosecution of his 2016 Democratic opponent,

Hillary Clinton,

over her alleged mishandling of classified emails.

It also wasn’t clear what Mr. Trump was suggesting the Obama administration didn’t do about Russian election meddling. Less than a month before he left office, then-President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia related to its work in 2016. The State Department expelled what it described as 35 intelligence operatives from the U.S., and the administration imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Russian officials.

As that was happening, members of the incoming Trump administration were working to undermine the impact of those sanctions, according to court documents.

Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser,

Mike Flynn,

pleaded guilty in December to lying to the FBI about a series of calls he made with Russia’s then-ambassador to the U.S., including discussion of sanctions. Mr. Flynn is now cooperating with Mr. Mueller’s probe.

Then, last year, Congress voted to further punish Russia for its meddling, by memorializing in law the Obama administration’s sanctions and requiring the Trump administration to list oligarchs close to Russian President

Vladimir Putin’s

government. At the end of January, the Treasury Department published a list, but in a break from what Congress required, it didn’t impose sanctions on individuals doing business with Russian military or intelligence bodies.

Asked Tuesday about this approach, White House press secretary

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

said, “there’s a process that has to take place, and we’re going through that process.”

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment.

Senate and House Democratic leaders on Wednesday sent a letter to House Speaker

Paul Ryan

and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell requesting their support in increasing the FBI’s budget by $300 million to combat foreign influence in elections. That came days after Mr. Mueller indicted 13 Russians and three companies for alleged crimes tied to the use of a “troll” factory to sow political discord on social media, an effort that also sought to help Mr. Trump and hinder Mrs. Clinton.

“We have Russian operatives flooding our social media platforms with misinformation,” said Senate Minority Leader

Chuck Schumer

(D., N.Y.) in a conference call about the request. It is “not clear” what the Trump administration is doing about it, he said.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Ryan, AshLee Strong, made no commitments on whether he would support the expenditure.

“The bipartisan House Intel Committee has conducted a year-long review into Russia meddling in the 2016 elections,” she said. “This review, along with the Senate Intel and FBI investigations, will inform lawmakers on ways to protect the 2018 election.”

Some former federal prosecutors said Mr. Trump is wrong to pressure Mr. Sessions on investigations.

Jimmy Gurulé, a University of Notre Dame law professor and former assistant attorney general in Republican President George H.W. Bush’s administration, said in an interview that the president shouldn’t look to determine who gets prosecuted.

“When the president sends out tweets like this—why aren’t the Democrats being prosecuted?—that sounds to me like a president from an authoritarian country, where the prosecutor is an arm and extension of the president and people are being politically persecuted.”

Robert Ray, who served as independent counsel in the investigation into the Bill Clinton-era Whitewater land deal, said he didn’t believe Mr. Trump’s actions in this instance are improper. As president, Mr. Trump establishes policy for the entire executive branch, with no exception carved out for the Justice Department, Mr. Ray said.

In an email, Mr. Ray wrote that if Mr. Trump “wants to steer DOJ towards investigation of Russian meddling’ involving a prior administration, why not? That may have adverse political consequences, but in my judgment is not improper.”

Mr. Trump has said his campaign didn’t work with Russia in 2016, although several people in Mr. Trump’s orbit have admitted to having had contact with Russians during the campaign. The Mueller team has indicted two other Trump campaign officials, including former campaign manager

Paul Manafort,

for alleged financial misdeeds in work that predated the campaign. They have pleaded not guilty.

Write to Julie Bykowicz at julie.bykowicz@wsj.com and Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com

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