Washington (CNN): Special counsel Robert Mueller’s interest in Jared Kushner has expanded beyond his contacts with Russia and now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition, according to people familiar with the inquiry. This is the first indication that Mueller is exploring Kushner’s discussions with potential non-Russian foreign investors, including in China. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/mueller-investigation-kushner-foreign-financing-efforts/index.html
…also doesn’t hurt to have rich ‘friends’ in high places, Russia for instance https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/business/vnesheconombank-veb-bank-russia-trump-kushner.html In 2015, Kushner bought a 50.1 percent share in the Time Square Building in Manhattan from Africa Israel Investments, Ltd. (AFI), an investment and holding company owned by Israeli-Uzbek diamond magnate Lev Leviev. AFI has been involved in the building of illegal settlements on the West Bank and the acquisition of diamonds from Africa’s bloodiest of conflict zones. AFI and its subsidiary, Danya Cebus, have been subjected to disinvestments by a number of governments and companies over its West Bank activities. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/us/politics/jared-kushner-beny-steinmetz.html
“Israeli Billionaire Beny Steinmetz Detained in Investigation” (NYT 8/14/17) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/business/dealbook/beny-steinmetz-israeli-billionaire-detained.html (Beny was arrested on suspicion of money laundering, falsifying documents, using fake documents, false registration of corporate documents, fraud, breach of corporate trust, obstruction of justice, and bribery). “In April, The New York Times reported that a firm that claimed to invest money for Mr. Steinmetz’s brother and longtime business partner, Daniel, along with his son Raz, had partnered with Kushner Companies, the family real estate firm of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser, on dozens of apartment buildings around Manhattan and Jersey City.”
As of August 5th: Connecting the dots between Kushner, Giuliani, Mukasey and assorted other characters http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/trumpites-terribly-tangled-web-article-1.3385158
“Two weeks after Donald J. Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination last year, his eldest son arranged a meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan with a Russian lawyer who has connections to the Kremlin, according to confidential government records described to The New York Times. The previously unreported meeting was also attended by Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman at the time, Paul J. Manafort, as well as the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner” [supposedly for the purpose of discussing the adoption of Russian children] “…The Russian lawyer invited to the Trump Tower meeting, Natalia Veselnitskaya, is best known for mounting a multipronged attack against the Magnitsky Act, an American law that blacklists suspected Russian human rights abusers [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Magnitsky ]. The law so enraged Mr. Putin that he retaliated by halting American adoptions of Russian children. “Reportedly Ms. Veselnitskaya, in her anti-Magnitsky campaign, employs a private investigator whose firm, Fusion GPS, produced an intelligence dossier that contained unproven allegations against the president” [including accounts of frolics with prostitutes, real estate deals that were intended as bribes and coordination with Russian intelligence of the hacking of Democrats]. (NYT 7/8/17) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html See also https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2017-04-04%20CEG%20to%20DHS%20(Akhmetshin%20Information)%20with%20attachment.pdf
“Russian Government Sought to Aid Trump’s Candidacy, According to Email” (NYT) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-russia-email-candidacy.html
“Before arranging a meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer he believed would offer him compromising information about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Jr. was informed in an email that the material was part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s candidacy, according to three people with knowledge of the email.”
“Meeting With Russian Lawyer Just Latest Alarming Revelation About Jared Kushner” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jared-kushner-russian-lawyer_us_59664aa9e4b005b0fdca6b34
“…Also raising questions about Kushner’s security clearance is a McClatchy report detailing investigations in Congress and by the Justice Department into whether the Trump campaign’s digital team, overseen by Kushner, directed Russian operatives to key states. McClatchy reported DOJ investigators are skeptical that Russians spreading fake news would have known the areas to target on their own.” See “Trump-Russia investigators probe Jared Kushner-run digital operation” http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article160803619.html
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner “inadvertently omitted” more than 70 assets worth at least $10.6 million from his personal financial disclosure reports, according to revised paperwork released Friday. The previously unreported assets were included in updated disclosure reports certified by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on Thursday as part of the “ordinary review process,” according to Kushner’s filing. Ivanka Trump, also filed new federal disclosures. She reported assets of at least $66 million and earned at least $13.5 million in income last year from her various business ventures. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/kushner-adds-at-least-10m-in-assets-to-revised-disclosure/2017/07/21/972ddf56-6e71-11e7-abbc-a53480672286_story.html
“In trying to fend off suspicion of collusion with the Kremlin, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner have recently provided the public with two very interesting documents. Shoving responsibility for any outreach onto the Russian side, the two men have given us with a partial account of Russian methods in approaching the Trump camp in 2016.
If the accounts are true—and, given that their accounts have changed in the past, these latest accounts could change too—then, taken together, the Trump Jr. emails and Kushner’s statement show a Russian side that is experimenting with ways of getting the Trump team’s attention. They show a side that really is, as one former Obama administration told me, “throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what would stick.” https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/07/kushner-statement-russia/534687/
President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has used a private email account to communicate with other officials in the administration about White House business, according to Politico. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/24/jared-kushner-private-email-white-house-243071 “The decision to set up new, private accounts as Kushner was preparing to enter the White House came in the wake of a bitter election campaign in which Trump routinely excoriated his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for using a personal email account to handle government business when she was secretary of state.
Private email traffic among White House aides — some of it sent between personal email accounts rather than to or from government addresses — could skirt the requirements of the Presidential Records Act, which requires all documents related to the president’s personal and political activities to be archived. Trump himself is not known to use email but occasionally has email messages to his assistant printed and presented to him.
Other White House officials have also sometimes used personal accounts to correspond with Kushner and with each other, according to emails seen by POLITICO and people familiar with Kushner’s correspondence. They have also used encrypted apps like Signal and Confide that automatically delete messages, prompting former press secretary Sean Spicer in February to issue a warning to communications staffers that using such apps could violate the Presidential Records Act.”
“Josh Kushner Politely Rebukes His Brother’s Boss for Nuking His Business : The Oscar {health-insurance company’s} co-founder’s op-ed about Obamacare could make for an uncomfortable Thanksgiving in the Kushner household.” https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/10/josh-kushner-oscar-obamacare-op-ed “…Until now, Josh has stayed quiet when it comes to the contrast, giving only a few flavorless quotes to Forbes such as, “It is no secret that liberal values have guided my life and that I have supported political leaders that share similar values.” But on Friday, he and his Oscar co-founder, C.E.O. Mario Schlosser, published a clear, if characteristically equivocal, rebuke of Trump’s A.C.A. repeal push, in an op-ed for Axios.” https://www.axios.com/individual-market-will-thrive-oscar-2501833939.html
“Jared Kushner failed to disclose his role as a co-director of the Charles and Seryl Kushner Foundation from 2006 to 2015, a time when the group funded an Israeli settlement considered to be illegal under international law, on financial records he filed with the Office of Government Ethics earlier this year.” http://www.newsweek.com/jared-kushner-disclosure-form-west-bank-settlements-israel-white-house-729290 “The latest development follows reports on Friday indicating the White House senior adviser attempted to sway a United Nations Security Council vote against an anti-settlement resolution passed just before Donald Trump took office, which condemned the structure of West Bank settlements. The failure to disclose his role in the foundation—at a time when he was being tasked with serving as the president’s Middle East peace envoy—follows a pattern of egregious omissions that would bar any other official from continuing to serve in the West Wing, experts and officials told Newsweek.”
“While Jared Kushner is working on a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the Kushner Companies Charitable Foundation is funding a controversial West Bank settlement.” (ProPublica 12/6/17) https://www.propublica.org/article/jared-kushner-kushner-companies-donating-west-bank-settlement Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which eat away at any future Palestinian state, are one of the main obstacles to a two-state solution. Bet El, which was built on private Palestinian land seized by the Israeli military in the 1970s, is considered one of the most politically radical settlements. The former president of the Bet El group, David Friedman, is now the Trump administration’s ambassador to Israel.
Report: SEC Probing Kushner Company Role In Visas-For-Money Program : Chinese who invest in Kushner company real estate deals can get green cards. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kushner-investigation-invisas-formoney_us_5a51ad55e4b01e1a4b15a93e “…The EB-5 visa program provides green cards to immigrants who invest a minimum of $500,000 in certain American businesses. The Associated Press reported last year that wealthy Chinese spent $7.7 billion obtaining 40,000 of the “golden visas” in the U.S. in the last decade. The SEC in May subpoenaed records from Kushner Cos. concerning its links to the program, according to the Journal. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, meanwhile, began to examine company projects funded through the program. The probes involve twin, 66-story office and housing towers in New Jersey, sources told the Wall Street Journal.”
“Jared Kushner’s company under renewed scrutiny over Chinese and Israeli deals : Family’s real estate company received a subpoena from the SEC, and separately questions have been raised about his business dealings in Israel” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/08/jared-kushners-company-under-renewed-scrutiny-over-chinese-and-israeli-deals “…According to the New York Times Kushner’s company received an investment nearing $30m from Menora Mivtachim, one of Israel’s largest insurers, in the spring of 2017, shortly before the president and his son-in-law visited the country. According to the report, the funds were directed into a Maryland development. Kushner, who has been charged with brokering peace between Israel and Palestine, has taken out at least four loans from Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s largest bank and currently under a US Department of Justice criminal investigation.
A White House spokesperson denied that government ethics laws had been broken in the Menora Mivtachim deal. “We have tremendous confidence in the job Jared is doing leading our peace efforts and he takes the ethics rules very seriously and would never compromise himself or the administration.”
Jared Kushner reportedly was warned that his close friend Wendi Deng Murdoch may be a Chinese spy http://www.businessinsider.com/kushner-warned-that-his-friend-wendi-deng-murdoch-may-be-a-chinese-spy-2018-1 Wendi Deng Murdoch, a Chinese-American who kept her surname after being married to the media mogul Rupert Murdoch for 14 years, is a prominent businesswoman. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kushner was warned early last year that Murdoch could be using her friendship with him and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to “further the interests of the Chinese government.”
“The real estate company run by the family of Jared Kushner is no longer seeking $150 million from Chinese investors for a New Jersey building project after months of criticism that the company was playing up its White House ties to raise the money.” (A/P 1/25/18) http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180125/kushners-drop-effort-to-raise-chinese-cash Also: “A federal judge ruled Friday that the apartment company owned by Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law of President Donald J. Trump, cannot hide the names of the firm’s investors to protect them from what it calls unfair media coverage of a lawsuit filed by Baltimore-area tenants.” (Baltimore Sun 1/26/18) http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-md-jared-kushner-lawsuit-20180126-story.html
“This Is Kelly’s Way of Saying, ‘It’s Me or Jared’”: Inside the West Wing, Security Clearance-gate Is Getting Uglier by the Day : Kushner is asking people to advocate on his behalf. McMaster is lobbying Mike Pompeo and Dan Coats to support Kelly. But in the end, it’s all up to Trump.” (Vanity Fair 2/21/18) https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/02/kelly-or-jared-inside-the-west-wing-security-clearance-gate
Kushner loses access to top-secret intelligence : A memo sent Friday downgraded the presidential son-in-law and adviser and other White House aides who had been working on interim clearances.” https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/27/jared-kushner-security-clearance-downgrade-427178
Also: “Senior communications official Josh Raffel is leaving the White House” https://www.axios.com/scoop-josh-raffel-leaving-white-house-1519758344-420c51f4-093a-4457-afce-595c50236061.html “Raffel, a former Hollywood PR executive, was originally brought in early last year to run communications for the Office of American Innovation, but quickly became the point man internally for Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. The Office of American Innovation is directed by Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to President Trump.”
(Feb 22. 2018) “Reed Cordish, a senior aide to senior White House advisor Jared Kushner, will be leaving the White House to return to his family business. Cordish will be replaced by Brooke Rollins, currently CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a former aide to Texas’ last governor, Rick Perry, in a few weeks.” https://www.hstoday.us/uncategorized/cordish-leave-office-american-innovation/
“For the first time, the Kushner Companies admitted Sunday to meeting with Qatar’s finance minister in New York three months after President Donald Trump took office, but said no funds were exchanged or a deal struck.
Jared Kushner’s father, Charles, said the meeting took place but that if Qatari finance minister Ali Sharif al-Emadi and other representatives were ready to provide investment or funds to the real estate company it would not have been accepted, according to The Washington Post.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kushner-companies-confirms-meeting-with-qatar-on-financing/2018/03/18/55e281ac-1e3c-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html?utm_term=.a8911f819bb7
“Charles Kushner (born May 16, 1954) is an American real estate developer. He founded Kushner Companies in 1985. In 2005, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering, and served time in federal prison. After his release, he resumed his career in real estate. As a result of his convictions, Kushner was disbarred, prohibited from practicing law in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. In August 2015, Kushner donated $100,000 to Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again PAC, a super PAC supporting Trump’s 2016 campaign for the presidency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kushner#Criminal_conviction
Bank of Internet, Which Had Been Under Federal Investigation, Appears In Multiple Kushner Deals https://www.propublica.org/article/bank-of-internet-kushner-deals
After multiple subpoenas in 2016, the SEC investigation of BofI was closed without any action on June 27, 2017, several months before the first of the known Kushner transactions, according to documents obtained through public records requests by investment research outfit Probes Reporter.
As part of its investigation, the SEC subpoenaed documents from BofI relating to its internal controls, conflicts of interest policies, and residential loans to foreigners, among other matters.
The New York Post reported early last year that the Justice Department was also looking into issues at the bank related to possible money laundering. “We are not aware of any ongoing DOJ or Treasury investigation,” the company said in a statement.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In April 2017, Kushner Cos. directly solicited investment from Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi for its deeply indebted 666 Fifth Avenue luxury tower in Manhattan. No deal came out of the talks headed by Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, who has run the company since Trump’s son-in-law began serving in the White House. The following month, Kushner and the White House supported a blockade of Qatar organized by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Due to the crisis, alliances in the region have shifted, with Qatar—which holds the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East—aligning more closely with Iran and Turkey. In June, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought a “calm and thoughtful dialogue” to bring resolution to the clash between Qatar and its neighbors. But President Donald Trump echoed Saudi talking points and called Qatar a “funder of terror at a very high level.”
The president reversed his position last month that the regime was a major funder of terrorism while welcoming Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to the White House with open arms and heaping praise on the emir, who he called “a great friend of mine”. Two weeks earlier on a visit to Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a stern message to the Persian Gulf leaders, urging them to resolve their differences and stressing that gulf unity is imperative if the United States and its allies are to confront Iran, a Saudi, Israeli and Trump administration priority.
In January Qatar and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding on energy co-operation and throughout the crisis, Qatar continued to buy US weaponry in large quantities: a $12bn deal for F15 jets was announced last summer. The Qataris also pay for the cost of maintaining the Al Udeid Air Base (which they built in 1966 at the cost of more than $1 billion), and have promised significant upgrades to the facilities for US troops and their families, as well as building new naval ports, that will be able to accommodate U.S. warships, for port visits or permanent basing. This spring, the emirate put in orders worth another half billion dollars for US guidance systems and precision-guided missiles for helicopters, just ahead of a visit to the White House in April by the emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
“Trump set to benefit as Qatar buys $6.5m apartment in New York tower” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/04/trump-qatar-buys-apartment-new-york-tower Also: “The Kushners Are Finally Getting That Sweet, Sweet Qatari Cash : Qatar, under siege, opens its pocketbook to help save 666 Fifth.” https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/05/kushner-cos-brookfield-qatar (just prior to Jared Kushner’s visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia in May 2017, his family real estate company also “received a roughly $30 million investment from Menora Mivtachim,” described as one of Israel’s largest financial institutions).
“Qatar eyes stake in Newsmax : The Persian Gulf state, owner of Al Jazeera, has sought to invest in the conservative news outlet with ties to Trump.” https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/08/qatar-newsmax-ruddy-al-jazeera-trump-573242 (The Qatari government already owns the international Al-Jazeera news network). Qatari money was also behind the creation of a DC-based thinktank, the Gulf International Forum in February, and since last June, when the blockade began, the Doha government has spent over $5m on lobbying firms, in an effort to match the Saudis.
“Mexicans decry government decision to give top honour to Kushner : President Enrique Pena Nieto’s decision to grant the Order of the Aztec on Trump’s son-in-law has shocked Mexicans.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/mexico-bestow-highest-honour-kushner-sparks-outcry-181128070356584.html “The 37-year-old has been credited with renegotiating the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The revised agreement, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), replaced the nearly 25-year-old NAFTA, which the US president had labelled a disaster and promised to cancel. “Mr Kushner’s participating was decisive in initiating the process of renegotiating NAFTA, preventing a unilateral exit from the United States of said treaty, and his constant and effective involvement was key to achieving a successful conclusion of the negotiations,” read a Mexican foreign ministry statement.”
“Jared Kushner’s Axios Interview Was a Total Clown Show. Here Are His Most Cringeworthy Answers.” (Slate 6/3/19) https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/jared-kushner-axios-hbo-jonathan-swan-interview-worst-exchanges.html “…as ridiculous as Kushner’s Axios interview was, it’s what Jared Kushner has done that matters, not anything he said in this embarrassing television appearance. Still, it’s hard to say whether or not talking to Axios will help or hurt Kushner in the long run. On the one hand, he revealed himself and the administration that hired him to be even more dangerously unqualified than the nation had previously imagined. On the other hand, he’s going to be squirming and dissembling his way through awkward explanations of his time working for the Trump administration for the rest of his life. It can’t hurt to get a little practice in.”
“Company part-owned by Jared Kushner got $90m from unknown offshore investors since 2017 : Overseas investment flowed to Cadre while Trump’s son-in-law works as US envoy, raising conflict of interest questions” (Guardian 6/10/19) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/10/jared-kushner-real-estate-cadre-goldman-sachs “Cadre was founded in 2014 by Kushner, his brother Joshua and their friend Ryan Williams, who previously worked for Goldman Sachs. The company operates from a building in Manhattan owned by the Kushner family’s real estate corporation. …This funding [from the Cayman Islands] is separate from ownership stakes in Cadre itself bought by venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and foreign billionaires, including the Chinese technology tycoon Jack Ma and the Russian investor Yuri Milner. Cadre last year held talks with a fund backed by money from the Saudi Arabian government, but no deal was done.
Kushner has had financial ties to several different countries. His family’s single most expensive purchase, a skyscraper on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, was last year refinanced by a fund backed by the Qatari government. In an article for the Washington Post defending the family’s businesses, Kushner’s father, Charles, said foreign investments were “a legal and appropriate stream of funding”. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-kushner-heres-the-truth-about-my-family-and-our-business/2019/03/20/7e56f49a-4b2e-11e9-b79a-961983b7e0cd_story.html?utm_term=.8f20f57963cf
Jared Kushner Lands Deal With Murdoch-Owned HarperCollins for Book About His White House Stint https://www.thewrap.com/jared-kushner-book-deal-murdoch-harpercollins/
The publisher announced “His book will be the definitive, thorough recounting of the administration — and the truth about what happened behind closed doors”.
Kushner made plenty of headlines during his stint as senior adviser to the former president. Despite no previous government experience, he was tasked with leading the government’s response to the opioid crisis, criminal justice reform, as well as serving as a liaison with China, Mexico and Muslim-Americans. He also served as liaison in Middle East negotiations and led a widely criticized COVID-19 task force last year.
(South China Post June 12, 2021): “Former US President Donald Trump on Friday announced a new personal project he is working on: a book.
“I’m writing like crazy,” Trump said in a statement released through his leadership PAC, “and when the time comes, you’ll see the book of all books.”
Trump claimed he has turned down two book deals “from the most unlikely of publishers”. He did not provide any further details.
“I do not want to do such a deal right now,” he said.
Trump also teased that he is currently “working on a much more important project” but did not disclose more information.” https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3137047/donald-trump-claims-he-writing-crazy-and-working
Eideard 
Reblogged this on My Sharing Blog.
Washington (CNN): Special counsel Robert Mueller’s interest in Jared Kushner has expanded beyond his contacts with Russia and now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition, according to people familiar with the inquiry. This is the first indication that Mueller is exploring Kushner’s discussions with potential non-Russian foreign investors, including in China. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/19/politics/mueller-investigation-kushner-foreign-financing-efforts/index.html
…also doesn’t hurt to have rich ‘friends’ in high places, Russia for instance https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/business/vnesheconombank-veb-bank-russia-trump-kushner.html In 2015, Kushner bought a 50.1 percent share in the Time Square Building in Manhattan from Africa Israel Investments, Ltd. (AFI), an investment and holding company owned by Israeli-Uzbek diamond magnate Lev Leviev. AFI has been involved in the building of illegal settlements on the West Bank and the acquisition of diamonds from Africa’s bloodiest of conflict zones. AFI and its subsidiary, Danya Cebus, have been subjected to disinvestments by a number of governments and companies over its West Bank activities. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/us/politics/jared-kushner-beny-steinmetz.html
Trump, Kushner family partner a finalist for $1.7 billion contract to build FBI headquarters http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-kushner-fbi-headquarters-20170613-story.html
“Israeli Billionaire Beny Steinmetz Detained in Investigation” (NYT 8/14/17) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/business/dealbook/beny-steinmetz-israeli-billionaire-detained.html (Beny was arrested on suspicion of money laundering, falsifying documents, using fake documents, false registration of corporate documents, fraud, breach of corporate trust, obstruction of justice, and bribery). “In April, The New York Times reported that a firm that claimed to invest money for Mr. Steinmetz’s brother and longtime business partner, Daniel, along with his son Raz, had partnered with Kushner Companies, the family real estate firm of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser, on dozens of apartment buildings around Manhattan and Jersey City.”
As of August 5th: Connecting the dots between Kushner, Giuliani, Mukasey and assorted other characters http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/trumpites-terribly-tangled-web-article-1.3385158
“As federal investigators probe possible Kremlin links with the Donald Trump campaign, one connection that hasn’t gotten much attention is that between Jared Kushner and one of Russia’s most powerful and influential billionaires: Roman Abramovich.” (Bloomberg 8/17/17) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-18/billionaire-ally-of-putin-socialized-with-kushner-ivanka-trump
Meanwhile at Breitbart (8/17/17): “The Axios Way: Hammer Nationalists Trump & Bannon, Coddle Dem. Jared Kushner” http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/17/the-axios-way-hammer-nationalists-trump-bannon-coddle-dem-jared-kushner/ Also “Five Times Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Vacationed During a Crisis” http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/08/17/five-times-ivanka-trump-and-jared-kushner-vacationed-during-a-crisis/
“Untangling the web of Jared Kushner” (Washington Post) https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/untangling-the-web-of-jared-kushner/2017/05/26/57227636-4240-11e7-b29f-f40ffced2ddb_video.html See also “Special counsel is investigating Jared Kushner’s business dealings” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/special-counsel-is-investigating-jared-kushners-business-dealings/2017/06/15/5d9a32c6-51f2-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html
“Kushner firm’s $285 million Deutsche Bank loan came just before Election Day” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/kushner-firms-285-million-deutsche-bank-loan-came-just-before-election-day/2017/06/25/984f3acc-4f88-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html RTFA
“Bank at Center of U.S. Inquiry Projects Russian ‘Soft Power’” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/business/vnesheconombank-veb-bank-russia-trump-kushner.html RTFA
Kushner Adds Prominent Lawyer Abbe Lowell to Defense Team https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/us/politics/jared-kushner-abbe-lowell.html See also https://www.chadbourne.com/adlowell#experience
“Everything The Feds Want To Know About Freshly Lawyered-Up Jared Kushner” http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/everything-we-know-federal-investigation-jared-kushner-russia-ties-finances
Jared & Ivanka’s Guide to Mindful Marriage http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/19/jared-and-ivankas-guide-to-mindful-marriage
A government watchdog group on Thursday filed a complaint with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) over White House adviser Jared Kushner’s ownership interest in a real estate investment company. http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/340813-ethics-watchdog-files-complaint-against-kushner
The director of the independent Office of Government Ethics, who has been the federal government’s most persistent critic of the Trump administration’s approach to ethics, announced Thursday that he is resigning nearly six months before his term is scheduled to end. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-ethics-chief-who-clashed-with-white-house-announces-he-will-step-down/2017/07/06/4732c308-624c-11e7-a4f7-af34fc1d9d39_story.html
See also “Here’s How Trump Transferred Wealth to His Son While Avoiding the Usual Taxes” https://www.propublica.org/article/heres-how-trump-transferred-wealth-to-his-son-while-avoiding-usual-taxes
“Two weeks after Donald J. Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination last year, his eldest son arranged a meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan with a Russian lawyer who has connections to the Kremlin, according to confidential government records described to The New York Times. The previously unreported meeting was also attended by Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman at the time, Paul J. Manafort, as well as the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner” [supposedly for the purpose of discussing the adoption of Russian children] “…The Russian lawyer invited to the Trump Tower meeting, Natalia Veselnitskaya, is best known for mounting a multipronged attack against the Magnitsky Act, an American law that blacklists suspected Russian human rights abusers [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Magnitsky ]. The law so enraged Mr. Putin that he retaliated by halting American adoptions of Russian children. “Reportedly Ms. Veselnitskaya, in her anti-Magnitsky campaign, employs a private investigator whose firm, Fusion GPS, produced an intelligence dossier that contained unproven allegations against the president” [including accounts of frolics with prostitutes, real estate deals that were intended as bribes and coordination with Russian intelligence of the hacking of Democrats]. (NYT 7/8/17) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html See also https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2017-04-04%20CEG%20to%20DHS%20(Akhmetshin%20Information)%20with%20attachment.pdf
“White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus has accused Democratic operatives of arranging a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin-linked lawyer last summer, two weeks after Donald Trump won the Republican nomination for president. He pointed to an article on Circa, the news site owned by the right-wing media giant Sinclair Broadcast Group, which cited a spokesman for Trump’s legal team. The story was splashed on Drudge Report on Sunday morning.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-russia-lawyer_us_59624746e4b0615b9e922779 Re: Sinclair Broadcast Group see http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bs-fe-zontv-sinclair-trump-20170705-story.html
“Donald Trump Jr. just contradicted a whole bunch of White House denials of Russian contacts” (NYT) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/07/10/donald-trump-jr-just-contradicted-a-whole-bunch-of-white-house-denials-of-russian-contacts/ See also details in “Donald Trump Jr.’s stunning admission to the New York Times” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/07/09/donald-trump-jr-s-stunningly-incriminating-statement-to-the-new-york-times/
“Russian Government Sought to Aid Trump’s Candidacy, According to Email” (NYT) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-russia-email-candidacy.html
“Before arranging a meeting with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer he believed would offer him compromising information about Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Jr. was informed in an email that the material was part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s candidacy, according to three people with knowledge of the email.”
Fredo thrown to the wolves to take the spotlight off Kuschner because of where that would lead https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6CcHUK1Ebo/VXLUae5dDXI/AAAAAAAA9hs/3J4N7YsULIQ/s1600/Davis-Wolfbait-ONE-OF-THE-HOF13.jpg
☐ “Trump silent as son walloped in Russia scandal” (Politico) http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/11/trump-donald-trump-jr-tweet-silence-240398 ☐ “What happened and when: The timeline leading up to Donald Trump Jr.’s fateful meeting” (Washington Post 7/11/17) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/07/11/what-happened-and-when-the-timeline-leading-up-to-donald-trump-jr-s-fateful-meeting/ see also “Donald Trump Jr. may have just crossed the legal line on collusion” in sidebar ☐ “The Russian lawyer embroiled in controversy over her meeting with Donald Trump Jr. last year denied Tuesday that she’s worked for the Russian government. But Natalia Veselnitskaya, interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show, added that Trump Jr. and others at the meeting wanted damaging information about Hillary Clinton “so badly.” (CNN 7/11/17) http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/11/politics/russian-lawyer-natalia-veselnitskaya-donald-trump-jr-today-interview/index.html ☐ “Trump Confidants, Russia and a Pattern of Duplicity” (Bloomberg 7/11/17) https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-07-11/trump-confidantes-russia-and-a-pattern-of-duplicity
“Fox News explains the bright side of Don Jr.’s devastating emails” https://www.vox.com/2017/7/11/15953384/fox-news-donald-trump-jr-emails-spin
“Meeting With Russian Lawyer Just Latest Alarming Revelation About Jared Kushner” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jared-kushner-russian-lawyer_us_59664aa9e4b005b0fdca6b34
“…Also raising questions about Kushner’s security clearance is a McClatchy report detailing investigations in Congress and by the Justice Department into whether the Trump campaign’s digital team, overseen by Kushner, directed Russian operatives to key states. McClatchy reported DOJ investigators are skeptical that Russians spreading fake news would have known the areas to target on their own.” See “Trump-Russia investigators probe Jared Kushner-run digital operation” http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article160803619.html
“Kushner’s Felon Father Back at Helm of New York Empire With Two Fellow Inmates.” (Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-01-27/jared-kushner-s-felon-father-brought-two-fellow-inmates-into-company
“Jersey City has turned sharply against Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner” (LA Times) http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pol-kushner-jersey-city-2017-story.html
“Trial over ‘backroom deals’ awaits Kushner this week in N.J.” (NJ.com) http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2017/07/trial_over_backroom_deals_await_kushner_this_week.html
“All Roads Now Lead to Kushner” (Nicholas Kristof, NYT 7/13/17) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/opinion/kushner-donald-trump-jr-emails.html
“MSNBC host Chris Hayes provides evidence that foul play is afoot in Donald Trump Jr email chain” (Australia) http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/msnbc-host-chris-hayes-provides-evidence-that-foul-play-is-afoot-in-donald-trump-jr-email-chain/news-story/2173368facac0e3f2475c9601a844a68
Meanwhile: “Justice Department Defies Court Deadline To Release Sessions’ Contacts With Russians” (NPR) http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/13/536982193/justice-department-defies-court-deadline-to-release-sessions-contacts-with-russi
“The decline and fall of Jared and Don Jr.: Nepotism often ends badly.” (Jonathan Turley, USA TODAY 7/14/17) https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/07/14/jared-kushner-donald-trump-jr-nepotism-often-ends-badly-jonathan-turley-column/477008001/
“Ivanka and Jared begin the plunge from grace” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ivanka-and-jared-begin-the-plunge-from-grace/2017/07/13/0c8d7072-6805-11e7-9928-22d00a47778f_story.html
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner “inadvertently omitted” more than 70 assets worth at least $10.6 million from his personal financial disclosure reports, according to revised paperwork released Friday. The previously unreported assets were included in updated disclosure reports certified by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on Thursday as part of the “ordinary review process,” according to Kushner’s filing. Ivanka Trump, also filed new federal disclosures. She reported assets of at least $66 million and earned at least $13.5 million in income last year from her various business ventures. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/kushner-adds-at-least-10m-in-assets-to-revised-disclosure/2017/07/21/972ddf56-6e71-11e7-abbc-a53480672286_story.html
“Jared Kushner just threw Donald Trump Jr. under the bus. Bigly.” (Washington Post 7/24/17) https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/07/24/jared-kushner-just-threw-donald-trump-jr-under-the-bus-bigly/
Meanwhile: “New Yorkers aren’t afraid with psycho squirrel on the loose” (NY Post 7/22/17) “There is no cause for alarm — only caution, officials stress. There have been no known cases of squirrels passing rabies to humans in the US, they say.”
Kushner defends his contacts with Russian officials before congressional investigators. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kushner-arrives-at-senate-for-closed-door-questioning-on-russia/2017/07/24/f5be2b26-7073-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html
and “Why Jared Kushner is a central piece of the Trump-Russia puzzle” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/07/24/why-jared-kushner-is-a-central-piece-of-the-trump-russia-puzzle/
See also “Jared Kushner sealed real estate deal with oligarch’s firm cited in money-laundering case” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/24/jared-kushner-new-york-russia-money-laundering
“In trying to fend off suspicion of collusion with the Kremlin, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner have recently provided the public with two very interesting documents. Shoving responsibility for any outreach onto the Russian side, the two men have given us with a partial account of Russian methods in approaching the Trump camp in 2016.
If the accounts are true—and, given that their accounts have changed in the past, these latest accounts could change too—then, taken together, the Trump Jr. emails and Kushner’s statement show a Russian side that is experimenting with ways of getting the Trump team’s attention. They show a side that really is, as one former Obama administration told me, “throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what would stick.” https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/07/kushner-statement-russia/534687/
“Ex-Watergate prosecutor: Kushner’s explanations ‘blatantly ridiculous’” http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/343594-ex-watergate-prosecutor-kushners-explanations-blatantly-ridiculous
“Kushner contradicts Trump team’s denials of Russia contacts” (CNN July 25th) http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/24/politics/kushner-russia-statement-trump-denials/index.html
“In leaked intern talk, Kushner says Trump campaign too unorganized for Russian collusion” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/08/01/jared-kushner-trump-campaign-too-unorganized-collude-russian/530672001/ “In a leaked, off-the-record conversation with congressional interns, White House adviser and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner said the Trump campaign was too unorganized to collude with Russia, according to media reports. According to Foreign Policy Kushner told congressional interns “They thought we colluded, but we couldn’t even collude with our local offices,” during a private talk at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington on Monday afternoon. http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/07/31/kusher-to-interns-trump-team-too-disorganized-to-collude-with-russia/
“Ignorantia juris non excusat” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignorantia_juris_non_excusat
August 29: “11 Jaw-Droppers From Vanity Fair’s Scathing Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Takedown” http://toofab.com/2017/08/29/11-jaw-droppers-from-vanity-fairs-scathing-ivanka-trump-and-jared-kushner-takedown/
▶︎ “New evidence emerges on how Russia attacked the U.S. election” http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/new-evidence-emerges-how-russia-attacked-the-us-election (Jared Kushner may have helped Russian operatives with targeted political ads on Facebook)
▶︎ “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections” – Office of the Director of National Intelligence https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf
▶︎ “Russian firm tied to pro-Kremlin propaganda advertised on Facebook during election” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/facebook-says-it-sold-political-ads-to-russian-company-during-2016-election/2017/09/06/32f01fd2-931e-11e7-89fa-bb822a46da5b_story.html
▶︎ “Facebook Reportedly Turns Over Election Ad Data To Special Counsel Mueller” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/facebook-ad-data-mueller_us_59b0b71fe4b0dfaafcf55562
According to the Wall Street Journal, some of President Donald Trump’s lawyers concluded earlier this summer that Jared Kushner should step down as senior White House adviser because of possible legal complications related to his controversial meetings with Russian nationals during the election and his initial failure to disclose them. Reportedly they went as far as to draft a statement for Kushner to explain why he was stepping down but Trump resisted, telling aides that Kushner had done nothing wrong. http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-lawyers-wanted-kushner-to-resign-over-russia-ties-2017-9 See also “Trump, Russia and Sanctions: What We Know” (video) Wall Street Journal July 28, 2017 http://www.wsj.com/video/trump-russia-and-sanctions-what-we-know/4EA71A3E-F1B4-434F-98B9-AC9739C3450A.html
“Jared Kushner’s Harvard Admissions Essay” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/11/jared-kushners-harvard-admissions-essay
President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has used a private email account to communicate with other officials in the administration about White House business, according to Politico. http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/24/jared-kushner-private-email-white-house-243071 “The decision to set up new, private accounts as Kushner was preparing to enter the White House came in the wake of a bitter election campaign in which Trump routinely excoriated his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for using a personal email account to handle government business when she was secretary of state.
Private email traffic among White House aides — some of it sent between personal email accounts rather than to or from government addresses — could skirt the requirements of the Presidential Records Act, which requires all documents related to the president’s personal and political activities to be archived. Trump himself is not known to use email but occasionally has email messages to his assistant printed and presented to him.
Other White House officials have also sometimes used personal accounts to correspond with Kushner and with each other, according to emails seen by POLITICO and people familiar with Kushner’s correspondence. They have also used encrypted apps like Signal and Confide that automatically delete messages, prompting former press secretary Sean Spicer in February to issue a warning to communications staffers that using such apps could violate the Presidential Records Act.”
“Josh Kushner Politely Rebukes His Brother’s Boss for Nuking His Business : The Oscar {health-insurance company’s} co-founder’s op-ed about Obamacare could make for an uncomfortable Thanksgiving in the Kushner household.” https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/10/josh-kushner-oscar-obamacare-op-ed “…Until now, Josh has stayed quiet when it comes to the contrast, giving only a few flavorless quotes to Forbes such as, “It is no secret that liberal values have guided my life and that I have supported political leaders that share similar values.” But on Friday, he and his Oscar co-founder, C.E.O. Mario Schlosser, published a clear, if characteristically equivocal, rebuke of Trump’s A.C.A. repeal push, in an op-ed for Axios.” https://www.axios.com/individual-market-will-thrive-oscar-2501833939.html
“The shrinking profile of Jared Kushner” (Washington Post 11/25/17) https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-shrinking-profile-of-jared-kushner/2017/11/25/5baf7068-c103-11e7-af84-d3e2ee4b2af1_story.html
“Kushner dismisses possible White House departure: ‘We’re here to stay’” (The Hill 11/25/17) http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/361800-kushner-dismisses-possible-white-house-departure-were-here-to-stay “Kushner’s publicized comments come as The New York Times reported Saturday that White House chief of staff John Kelly discussed the possibility of Trump’s eldest daughter and son-in-law departing the White House by the end of 2017, which Kelly disputed. “There was honestly never a time when I contemplated getting rid of Jared and Ivanka,” Kelly told the Times.
“Jared Kushner failed to disclose his role as a co-director of the Charles and Seryl Kushner Foundation from 2006 to 2015, a time when the group funded an Israeli settlement considered to be illegal under international law, on financial records he filed with the Office of Government Ethics earlier this year.” http://www.newsweek.com/jared-kushner-disclosure-form-west-bank-settlements-israel-white-house-729290 “The latest development follows reports on Friday indicating the White House senior adviser attempted to sway a United Nations Security Council vote against an anti-settlement resolution passed just before Donald Trump took office, which condemned the structure of West Bank settlements. The failure to disclose his role in the foundation—at a time when he was being tasked with serving as the president’s Middle East peace envoy—follows a pattern of egregious omissions that would bar any other official from continuing to serve in the West Wing, experts and officials told Newsweek.”
“While Jared Kushner is working on a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the Kushner Companies Charitable Foundation is funding a controversial West Bank settlement.” (ProPublica 12/6/17) https://www.propublica.org/article/jared-kushner-kushner-companies-donating-west-bank-settlement Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which eat away at any future Palestinian state, are one of the main obstacles to a two-state solution. Bet El, which was built on private Palestinian land seized by the Israeli military in the 1970s, is considered one of the most politically radical settlements. The former president of the Bet El group, David Friedman, is now the Trump administration’s ambassador to Israel.
Report: SEC Probing Kushner Company Role In Visas-For-Money Program : Chinese who invest in Kushner company real estate deals can get green cards. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kushner-investigation-invisas-formoney_us_5a51ad55e4b01e1a4b15a93e “…The EB-5 visa program provides green cards to immigrants who invest a minimum of $500,000 in certain American businesses. The Associated Press reported last year that wealthy Chinese spent $7.7 billion obtaining 40,000 of the “golden visas” in the U.S. in the last decade. The SEC in May subpoenaed records from Kushner Cos. concerning its links to the program, according to the Journal. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, meanwhile, began to examine company projects funded through the program. The probes involve twin, 66-story office and housing towers in New Jersey, sources told the Wall Street Journal.”
“Jared Kushner’s company under renewed scrutiny over Chinese and Israeli deals : Family’s real estate company received a subpoena from the SEC, and separately questions have been raised about his business dealings in Israel” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/08/jared-kushners-company-under-renewed-scrutiny-over-chinese-and-israeli-deals “…According to the New York Times Kushner’s company received an investment nearing $30m from Menora Mivtachim, one of Israel’s largest insurers, in the spring of 2017, shortly before the president and his son-in-law visited the country. According to the report, the funds were directed into a Maryland development. Kushner, who has been charged with brokering peace between Israel and Palestine, has taken out at least four loans from Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s largest bank and currently under a US Department of Justice criminal investigation.
A White House spokesperson denied that government ethics laws had been broken in the Menora Mivtachim deal. “We have tremendous confidence in the job Jared is doing leading our peace efforts and he takes the ethics rules very seriously and would never compromise himself or the administration.”
Jared Kushner reportedly was warned that his close friend Wendi Deng Murdoch may be a Chinese spy http://www.businessinsider.com/kushner-warned-that-his-friend-wendi-deng-murdoch-may-be-a-chinese-spy-2018-1 Wendi Deng Murdoch, a Chinese-American who kept her surname after being married to the media mogul Rupert Murdoch for 14 years, is a prominent businesswoman. According to The Wall Street Journal, Kushner was warned early last year that Murdoch could be using her friendship with him and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to “further the interests of the Chinese government.”
“Jared Kushner Is China’s Trump Card : How the President’s son-in-law, despite his inexperience in diplomacy, became Beijing’s primary point of interest.” (This article appears with the headline “Soft Target” in the print edition of the January 29, 2018, issue of The New Yorker) https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/29/jared-kushner-is-chinas-trump-card
Re: “The Inner Ring” by C.S. (1944) see http://www.mit.edu/~hooman/ideas/the_inner_ring.htm
“The real estate company run by the family of Jared Kushner is no longer seeking $150 million from Chinese investors for a New Jersey building project after months of criticism that the company was playing up its White House ties to raise the money.” (A/P 1/25/18) http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180125/kushners-drop-effort-to-raise-chinese-cash Also: “A federal judge ruled Friday that the apartment company owned by Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law of President Donald J. Trump, cannot hide the names of the firm’s investors to protect them from what it calls unfair media coverage of a lawsuit filed by Baltimore-area tenants.” (Baltimore Sun 1/26/18) http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-md-jared-kushner-lawsuit-20180126-story.html
The founder of one of China’s biggest insurers, who had discussed possibly investing in a Manhattan skyscraper owned by the family of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, will be prosecuted for financial offenses and regulators have taken control of his company, the government announced Friday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-anbang-regulation/china-seizes-control-of-anbang-insurance-as-chairman-prosecuted-idUSKCN1G7076
Trump says Kelly will decide on Kushner clearance (02/23/18 03:10 PM EST) http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/375325-trump-says-kelly-will-decided-on-kushner-clearance
“Officials at the White House have been working to devise a plan this week that would allow Jared Kushner to continue in his role handling sensitive foreign policy matters without forcing President Donald Trump to personally intervene and grant him access to classified information, people familiar with the situation say.” (2/23/18 12:14 PM ET) https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/23/politics/kushner-kelly-security-clearance/index.html
“White House senior aide Jared Kushner’s multiple omissions on required financial disclosure forms for his security clearance would “be a crime, punishable by prison” for other people, Fox News host Shepard Smith said Thursday. “Apparently not in this case,” Smith added.” https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/shepard-smith-others-get-prison-for-what-kushner-did_us_5a8f60eae4b01e9e56b9ef52
“As Jared Kushner’s security clearance is delayed, White House hesitates to act on others with possible problems” (Washington Post) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/as-jared-kushners-security-clearance-is-delayed-white-house-hesitates-to-act-on-others-with-possible-problems/2018/02/09/256fa1e6-0dbe-11e8-8b0d-891602206fb7_story.html?utm_term=.8be26819e0b8 “Two U.S. officials said they do not expect Kushner to receive a permanent security clearance in the near future.
…The president’s son-in-law and close adviser has been allowed to see materials, including the President’s Daily Brief, that are among the most sensitive in government. He has been afforded that privilege even though he has only an interim clearance and is a focus in the ongoing special counsel investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the election.”
“This Is Kelly’s Way of Saying, ‘It’s Me or Jared’”: Inside the West Wing, Security Clearance-gate Is Getting Uglier by the Day : Kushner is asking people to advocate on his behalf. McMaster is lobbying Mike Pompeo and Dan Coats to support Kelly. But in the end, it’s all up to Trump.” (Vanity Fair 2/21/18) https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/02/kelly-or-jared-inside-the-west-wing-security-clearance-gate
“Report: Jared Kushner’s White House security clearance hits new snag” (USAToday 8:30 a.m. ET Feb. 24, 2018) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/02/24/report-jared-kushner-security-clearance-faces-new-delay-white-house-advised-new-information-delay-ja/369806002/ “The Washington Post, quoting three unidentified sources, reported Saturday that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein informed White House counsel Donald McGahn on Feb. 9 about the new developments in the case. …The report comes as a deadline, set by Kelly, passed on Friday for top White House aides to secure a permanent security clearance or risk losing access to classified information.”
See also https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-justice-dept-official-alerted-white-house-2-weeks-ago-to-ongoing-issues-in-kushners-security-clearance/2018/02/23/aa9b37c8-17f4-11e8-92c9-376b4fe57ff7_story.html?utm_term=.d494383f1fd1
Kushner loses access to top-secret intelligence : A memo sent Friday downgraded the presidential son-in-law and adviser and other White House aides who had been working on interim clearances.” https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/27/jared-kushner-security-clearance-downgrade-427178
Also: “Senior communications official Josh Raffel is leaving the White House” https://www.axios.com/scoop-josh-raffel-leaving-white-house-1519758344-420c51f4-093a-4457-afce-595c50236061.html “Raffel, a former Hollywood PR executive, was originally brought in early last year to run communications for the Office of American Innovation, but quickly became the point man internally for Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. The Office of American Innovation is directed by Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to President Trump.”
(Feb 22. 2018) “Reed Cordish, a senior aide to senior White House advisor Jared Kushner, will be leaving the White House to return to his family business. Cordish will be replaced by Brooke Rollins, currently CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and a former aide to Texas’ last governor, Rick Perry, in a few weeks.” https://www.hstoday.us/uncategorized/cordish-leave-office-american-innovation/
“Kushner’s overseas contacts raise concerns as foreign officials seek leverage” (WAPO 2/27/18 at 5:05 PM) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kushners-overseas-contacts-raise-concerns-as-foreign-officials-seek-leverage/2018/02/27/16bbc052-18c3-11e8-942d-16a950029788_story.html?utm_term=.5fe135b7095f (Newsweek 2/27/18 at 5:31 PM): The Trump campaign removed Jared Kuchner’s official title “assistant to the president” from the press release announcing Brad Parscale as the campaign manager for Trump’s 2020 bid after the Associated Press raised questions on its legality. The Hatch Act prohibits government workers from using their titles in political efforts. http://www.newsweek.com/trump-campaign-jared-kushner-brad-parscale-822984 Meanwhile, Brad Parscale, the political strategist and online guru who was named President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign manager http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/27/trump-names-brad-parscale-as-campaign-manager-for-2020-re-election-bid.html has a close financial relationship with a penny-stock firm with a questionable history that includes longstanding ties to a convicted fraudster, according to an Associated Press investigation. http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/business/article202482309.html Mr. Parscale is also intimately tied to a company called Cambridge Analytica, a shady data analytics firm that has become a major focus of both the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian meddling in the election and special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. https://www.vox.com/2018/2/27/17058208/brad-parscale-trump-campaign-russia-cambridge-analytica Jared Kushner, who was overseeing Trump’s digital operations hired Parscale, who had worked previously for Trump. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2016/11/22/exclusive-interview-how-jared-kushner-won-trump-the-white-house/#ed6fdbf3af68 (see also https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/09/jared-kushner-data-operation-russia-facebook regards assisting the Russians). The decision to hire Parscale was reinforced by Trump’s campaign manager, Steve Bannon, who is also a former vice president of Cambridge Analytica. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/16/15657512/mueller-fbi-cambridge-analytica-trump-russia According to the Associated Press Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to disclose “a brief advisory role with a firm related to a controversial data analysis company that aided the Trump campaign”. The company was Cambridge Analytica but the precise amount of money Cambridge paid to Flynn is unknown, as are the details of Flynn’s role. http://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/wireStory/apnewsbreak-flynn-details-tie-data-firm-transition-pay-49020848 Cambridge Analytica got its start with the help of $5 million from Renaissance Technologies, a Hedge Fund managed by Robert Mercer, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/27/the-reclusive-hedge-fund-tycoon-behind-the-trump-presidency a principal patron of Breitbart News and Steve Bannon. Also, according to the Paradise Papers https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/ Mercer reportedly invested offshore dark money to help sink Clinton. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/08/robert-mercer-offshore-dark-money-hillary-clinton-paradise-papers
Kushner’s Business Got Loans After White House Meetings (NYT) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/business/jared-kushner-apollo-citigroup-loans.html
New York’s banking regulator has asked Deutsche Bank AG and a pair of local lenders to provide information about their relationships with Jared Kushner, his family and the Kushner Companies, according to people familiar with the matter. (South China Morning Post) http://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2135178/loans-jared-kushner-and-family-deutsche-bank-are
Jared Kushner appears to have drawn more money out of three separate lines of credit in the months after he joined the White House last year, a newly released document shows. Recent revisions to the financial disclosure form filed by Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump, bumped up each of those debts to a range of $5 million to $25 million. Versions of the couple’s disclosures made public in July valued those debts at $1 million to $5 million apiece. (Wapo) https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/02/14/this-is-why-kushners-gargantuan-debt-matters/?utm_term=.775edeea0964
Kushner Cos in talks to buy partner’s 49.5 % stake in debt-laden Manhattan tower – Kushner Cos acquired the building with a full block of prime Fifth Avenue retail frontage in 2006 for $1.8 billion, the most ever paid for a New York office tower at the time. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-property-kushner/kushner-cos-in-talks-to-buy-partners-stake-in-debt-laden-manhattan-tower-idUSKCN1GB2O2
“Kushner Conflict Cloud Hovers Over Brooklyn Sale Linked to Japan” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-13/kushner-conflict-cloud-hovers-over-brooklyn-sale-linked-to-japan
“Kushner deal with Japan-backed company gets new scrutiny : Caleb Melby, financial investigations reporter for Bloomberg News, talks with Rachel Maddow about a hundred million dollar real estate deal the Jared Kushner’s family company did with a Japan-backed company. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/kushner-deal-with-japan-backed-company-gets-new-scrutiny-1186353219548?playlist=associated
Kushner Cos. filed false property documents with NYC, made many millions http://www.startribune.com/ap-exclusive-kushner-cos-filed-false-documents-with-nyc/477201723/
“For the first time, the Kushner Companies admitted Sunday to meeting with Qatar’s finance minister in New York three months after President Donald Trump took office, but said no funds were exchanged or a deal struck.
Jared Kushner’s father, Charles, said the meeting took place but that if Qatari finance minister Ali Sharif al-Emadi and other representatives were ready to provide investment or funds to the real estate company it would not have been accepted, according to The Washington Post.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kushner-companies-confirms-meeting-with-qatar-on-financing/2018/03/18/55e281ac-1e3c-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html?utm_term=.a8911f819bb7
“Charles Kushner (born May 16, 1954) is an American real estate developer. He founded Kushner Companies in 1985. In 2005, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering, and served time in federal prison. After his release, he resumed his career in real estate. As a result of his convictions, Kushner was disbarred, prohibited from practicing law in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. In August 2015, Kushner donated $100,000 to Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again PAC, a super PAC supporting Trump’s 2016 campaign for the presidency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kushner#Criminal_conviction
Saudi Crown Prince Boasted That Jared Kushner Was “In His Pocket” https://theintercept.com/2018/03/21/jared-kushner-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/
‘Outrageous’ Jared Kushner a ‘Huge Threat’ to U.S. Foreign Policy, Says Retired Army General http://www.newsweek.com/jared-kushner-threat-foreign-policy-856945
New York City investigating more than a dozen Kushner buildings http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-kushner-companies-new-york-rent-20180322-story.html
Citigroup says loan to Kushner family business ‘completely appropriate’ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/citigroup-loan-kushner-family-business-completely/story?id=53917924
Bank of Internet, Which Had Been Under Federal Investigation, Appears In Multiple Kushner Deals https://www.propublica.org/article/bank-of-internet-kushner-deals
After multiple subpoenas in 2016, the SEC investigation of BofI was closed without any action on June 27, 2017, several months before the first of the known Kushner transactions, according to documents obtained through public records requests by investment research outfit Probes Reporter.
As part of its investigation, the SEC subpoenaed documents from BofI relating to its internal controls, conflicts of interest policies, and residential loans to foreigners, among other matters.
The New York Post reported early last year that the Justice Department was also looking into issues at the bank related to possible money laundering. “We are not aware of any ongoing DOJ or Treasury investigation,” the company said in a statement.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jared Kushner may face new scrutiny over tangled financial holdings LA Times May 14, 2018) http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-kushner-20180514-story.html
In April 2017, Kushner Cos. directly solicited investment from Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi for its deeply indebted 666 Fifth Avenue luxury tower in Manhattan. No deal came out of the talks headed by Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, who has run the company since Trump’s son-in-law began serving in the White House. The following month, Kushner and the White House supported a blockade of Qatar organized by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Due to the crisis, alliances in the region have shifted, with Qatar—which holds the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East—aligning more closely with Iran and Turkey. In June, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought a “calm and thoughtful dialogue” to bring resolution to the clash between Qatar and its neighbors. But President Donald Trump echoed Saudi talking points and called Qatar a “funder of terror at a very high level.”
The president reversed his position last month that the regime was a major funder of terrorism while welcoming Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to the White House with open arms and heaping praise on the emir, who he called “a great friend of mine”. Two weeks earlier on a visit to Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a stern message to the Persian Gulf leaders, urging them to resolve their differences and stressing that gulf unity is imperative if the United States and its allies are to confront Iran, a Saudi, Israeli and Trump administration priority.
In January Qatar and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding on energy co-operation and throughout the crisis, Qatar continued to buy US weaponry in large quantities: a $12bn deal for F15 jets was announced last summer. The Qataris also pay for the cost of maintaining the Al Udeid Air Base (which they built in 1966 at the cost of more than $1 billion), and have promised significant upgrades to the facilities for US troops and their families, as well as building new naval ports, that will be able to accommodate U.S. warships, for port visits or permanent basing. This spring, the emirate put in orders worth another half billion dollars for US guidance systems and precision-guided missiles for helicopters, just ahead of a visit to the White House in April by the emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
“Trump set to benefit as Qatar buys $6.5m apartment in New York tower” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/04/trump-qatar-buys-apartment-new-york-tower Also: “The Kushners Are Finally Getting That Sweet, Sweet Qatari Cash : Qatar, under siege, opens its pocketbook to help save 666 Fifth.” https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/05/kushner-cos-brookfield-qatar (just prior to Jared Kushner’s visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia in May 2017, his family real estate company also “received a roughly $30 million investment from Menora Mivtachim,” described as one of Israel’s largest financial institutions).
“Qatar eyes stake in Newsmax : The Persian Gulf state, owner of Al Jazeera, has sought to invest in the conservative news outlet with ties to Trump.” https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/08/qatar-newsmax-ruddy-al-jazeera-trump-573242 (The Qatari government already owns the international Al-Jazeera news network). Qatari money was also behind the creation of a DC-based thinktank, the Gulf International Forum in February, and since last June, when the blockade began, the Doha government has spent over $5m on lobbying firms, in an effort to match the Saudis.
“Mexicans decry government decision to give top honour to Kushner : President Enrique Pena Nieto’s decision to grant the Order of the Aztec on Trump’s son-in-law has shocked Mexicans.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/mexico-bestow-highest-honour-kushner-sparks-outcry-181128070356584.html “The 37-year-old has been credited with renegotiating the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The revised agreement, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), replaced the nearly 25-year-old NAFTA, which the US president had labelled a disaster and promised to cancel. “Mr Kushner’s participating was decisive in initiating the process of renegotiating NAFTA, preventing a unilateral exit from the United States of said treaty, and his constant and effective involvement was key to achieving a successful conclusion of the negotiations,” read a Mexican foreign ministry statement.”
“Jared Kushner’s Axios Interview Was a Total Clown Show. Here Are His Most Cringeworthy Answers.” (Slate 6/3/19) https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/jared-kushner-axios-hbo-jonathan-swan-interview-worst-exchanges.html “…as ridiculous as Kushner’s Axios interview was, it’s what Jared Kushner has done that matters, not anything he said in this embarrassing television appearance. Still, it’s hard to say whether or not talking to Axios will help or hurt Kushner in the long run. On the one hand, he revealed himself and the administration that hired him to be even more dangerously unqualified than the nation had previously imagined. On the other hand, he’s going to be squirming and dissembling his way through awkward explanations of his time working for the Trump administration for the rest of his life. It can’t hurt to get a little practice in.”
“Company part-owned by Jared Kushner got $90m from unknown offshore investors since 2017 : Overseas investment flowed to Cadre while Trump’s son-in-law works as US envoy, raising conflict of interest questions” (Guardian 6/10/19) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/10/jared-kushner-real-estate-cadre-goldman-sachs “Cadre was founded in 2014 by Kushner, his brother Joshua and their friend Ryan Williams, who previously worked for Goldman Sachs. The company operates from a building in Manhattan owned by the Kushner family’s real estate corporation. …This funding [from the Cayman Islands] is separate from ownership stakes in Cadre itself bought by venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and foreign billionaires, including the Chinese technology tycoon Jack Ma and the Russian investor Yuri Milner. Cadre last year held talks with a fund backed by money from the Saudi Arabian government, but no deal was done.
Kushner has had financial ties to several different countries. His family’s single most expensive purchase, a skyscraper on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, was last year refinanced by a fund backed by the Qatari government. In an article for the Washington Post defending the family’s businesses, Kushner’s father, Charles, said foreign investments were “a legal and appropriate stream of funding”. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-kushner-heres-the-truth-about-my-family-and-our-business/2019/03/20/7e56f49a-4b2e-11e9-b79a-961983b7e0cd_story.html?utm_term=.8f20f57963cf
“Want to secretly, legally send money to Jared Kushner? Here’s how to do it.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/want-to-secretly-legally-send-money-to-jared-kushner-heres-how-to-do-it/2019/06/13/c8f0970c-8e01-11e9-b08e-cfd89bd36d4e_story.html?utm_term=.e68931ad8a1f
See also “How Ivanka Trump [and Jared] could benefit from a tax break she promoted” (12/13/18) https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/13/how-ivanka-trump-could-benefit-tax-break-she-promoted/?utm_term=.0082f6b182e1
“In their second year of government service, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner reported income from their companies and investments of as much as $135 million, according to their annual financial disclosure reports made public on Friday.” (NYT) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/business/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-net-worth.html
“The Kushners’ Freddie Mac Loan Wasn’t Just Massive. It Came With Unusually Good Terms, Too. Despite a history of underperforming properties, Kushner Companies received a near-record sum from a government-backed lender. Should it default, taxpayers could be forced to foot much of the bill. The agency says politics played no role.” (ProPublica Oct 1, 2020) https://www.propublica.org/article/the-kushners-freddie-mac-loan-wasnt-just-massive-it-came-with-unusually-good-terms-too
“A Real Estate Firm Co-Owned by Jared Kushner Is Looking to Profit From the Pandemic : A conflict of interest for Trump’s son-in-law?” (Mother Jones Oct 1, 2020) https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/10/a-real-estate-firm-co-owned-by-jared-kushner-is-looking-to-profit-from-the-pandemic/
Jared Kushner Lands Deal With Murdoch-Owned HarperCollins for Book About His White House Stint https://www.thewrap.com/jared-kushner-book-deal-murdoch-harpercollins/
The publisher announced “His book will be the definitive, thorough recounting of the administration — and the truth about what happened behind closed doors”.
Kushner made plenty of headlines during his stint as senior adviser to the former president. Despite no previous government experience, he was tasked with leading the government’s response to the opioid crisis, criminal justice reform, as well as serving as a liaison with China, Mexico and Muslim-Americans. He also served as liaison in Middle East negotiations and led a widely criticized COVID-19 task force last year.
(South China Post June 12, 2021): “Former US President Donald Trump on Friday announced a new personal project he is working on: a book.
“I’m writing like crazy,” Trump said in a statement released through his leadership PAC, “and when the time comes, you’ll see the book of all books.”
Trump claimed he has turned down two book deals “from the most unlikely of publishers”. He did not provide any further details.
“I do not want to do such a deal right now,” he said.
Trump also teased that he is currently “working on a much more important project” but did not disclose more information.” https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3137047/donald-trump-claims-he-writing-crazy-and-working