The Secret Service said Wednesday that an agent who blocked a reporter attempting to question senior White House adviser Jared Kushner was reacting to “an abrupt movement.”
“The actions of the special agent in this incident were in no way intended to impede those rights or the media’s access to a Secret Service protectee,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
“The actions were taken solely in response to an abrupt movement by an unknown individual who later identified themselves as a member of the media,” the agency added.
{mosads}The Secret Service reviewed the Tuesday incident in which CBS News reporter Errol Barnett attempted to ask Kushner for comment on the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as Kushner deplaned from a flight from Washington, D.C., to New York City.
Barnett posted video of the exchange, in which he identified himself as a reporter for CBS and asked for comment. A Secret Service agent accompanying Kushner then blocked Barnett’s camera.
When Barnett showed his White House press credentials, the agent responded “I don’t give a damn who you are. There’s a time and a place.”
Kushner, who reportedly has a close relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has largely remained out of the public eye in recent weeks amid investigations into what happened to Khashoggi.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and outspoken critic of Saudi leadership, was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Turkish officials are said to have audio that proves he was murdered and dismembered at the consulate.
Saudi leaders have said they do not know what happened to Khashoggi.
While U.S. lawmakers have vowed a response as it becomes increasingly apparent Khashoggi was killed, the Trump administration has been more cautious in its response.
President Trump has expressed concern over the matter, but has repeatedly cited denials from Saudi leaderships and dismissed any suggestion of cancelling lucrative weapons deals between the two countries. On Tuesday, he was critical of those who have assigned blame in the case, likening it to the treatment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he faced allegations of sexual assault.