This administration gets smarmier with every passing day. Is there no end to it??
10
Karlie Kloss is the new Ivanka.
4
Have the Kushners or the Trumps done anything in two years that hasn't been shady? Everything that they've done has some darker side to it involving money for themselves and their friends. They are an order of magnitude above all other crooked politicians.
20
@markd trump's and kushner's networks are lower level (in money/talent/money). it's a class war if you're paying attention. it's very interesting...history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme ;)
...it is interesting re-peat death of ancien regime...hahah...they keep repeating it...
@markd trump's and kushner's networks are lower level (in money/talent/money). it's a class war if you're paying attention. it's very interesting...history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme ;)
See no evil, hear no evil, speak plenty of evil.
Just saying.
5
Like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park, the Trumps and Kushners have been and continue to be testing the political and legal fences for weaknesses. They have found more than their share.
Huh - Fences: quite the double entendre in this era.
10
No wonder Trump wanted his daughter and son in law out of the WH, presumably. They are digging their own graves. Every move, every trip is so suspicious. Who knows? Maybe Trump didn't collude. Maybe is was a plan made by Kushner. Who wouldn't want their father in law to become President of the US so you can get a "job" there and expand the family business? Ivanka is for sure a brat, every book coming out of this administration describes her like that. How can a father say no to his "little girl"?
4
This comes right out of the Clinton playbook. Perhaps this is a bit more transparent but is another example of the corruption which is washington.
2
@Dave deflect - don't stay on subject. Must be Russian supporting Trump.
7
Trump and his entourage, including his daughter & son-in-law went to Washington/ White House to enrich themselves. Not for PUBLIC SERVICE, this is a known fact. Hillary would have done the same, if she was elected. Look at now defunct CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE. They laid of all soon after Hillary lost 2016 Election.
2
@Trevor Diaz
At least the Clinton Global Initiative actually did some good. What has the Trump foundation done besides collecting money under false pretenses to enrich themselves?
10
@Trevor Diaz
"Hillary would have done the same"? What do they say: "lock her up"? Applies to both then.
2
It is curious that Kushners never
visited Saudi Arabia till Mr. Trump
became the president. They are
milking the presidency for huge
financial gains. We prize democracy.
what this unelected man doing as
the adviser with no foreign policy
experience, being privy to the intelligence and talking to the crown
price late into the night?The crown
price is also unwise to get so enamored
of Kushners. What influence he will
have if Mr. Trump loses in 2020 and
even possibly tried for violation of law.
4
Before proceeding, let us review a few basics, i.e. the Duck Test: Quack? Check. Waddle? Check. Feathers, webbed feet, funny looking bill? Check, check and check.
Now, in order to define "conflict of interest," we need to know precisely whose interests the parties in question are representing, not who they appear to be representing. Therein lies the rub.
Whose interests, really, are Jared and Ivanka representing?
Quack.
23
I have a problem with the term "potential conflict of interest."
A conflict of interest is not potential; it is an active conflict.
When the conflicted person benefits from the conflict, that is corruption. (& it doesn't matter if it is to the detriment of the public; the conflicted person is aware of his conflict.)
20
It is NOT possible to "raise ethical questions" regarding dealings of the Trump-Kushner Syndicate. We should consider them permanently set to 'High'- no "raising" possible.
18
There must be ways to
make money without
selling out to tyrants.
With all the money in
the world what happens
when one has no integrity?
Think of the verbiage about women’s
rights that comes out of the
mouths of their wives....
Hypocrisy is hardly a new
phenomenal but its cloak
is ugly and obvious.
9
Follow the money. This family’s goal is to increase their revenue...the best interests of the U.S. and the world is irrelevant.
33
I remember well the screeching and bleating from Trump and his adoring supporters concerning "crooked" Hillary Clinton and to "lock her up".
Then, a grifter and his corrupt family takes the reins of this country and participates in graft that makes and allegations against Clinton pale in comparison.
Ethics and Trump and his family are mutually exclusive.
137
The problem with an administration filled with people at the highest ranks who have never served in any public capacity anywhere or anytime in their entire careers is that they don’t know and obviously don’t care about the optics of their behavior. In every meeting, every trip, every phone call there is corruption as this criminal family uses the office of the presidency to enrich themselves.
159
@Deirdre... and don't forget the great majority of the Republican party support the president and his family along with 35 to 45 percent of Americans which equates to about 56 million people (40% of about 140 million of the total electorate). Only the other 60% of the electorate in 2020 can end this...insanity.
24
@VJ - FOX 1, Evangelists
aslo support him. They
perceive Mr. Trump as the
embodiment of some Christian
values that we ordinary folks
can't.
6
Remember when everyone thought Jimmy Carter’s brother was making money off the presidency? Remember they made him sell the peanut farm?
The Trumps and Kushners put their businesses first - they aren’t even pretending to govern anymore.
Forget how they got there. Focus on the crimes occurring every single day.
252
Conservatives demanded Obama be impeached for not wearing a flag pin, yet Trump's willful ignorance and profound corruption is normalized. How did we get here?
43
Ah, the corruption wrought by Trump, the Kushners, and crony capitalism.
13
I don't always know where my two brothers who live in the US are at any particular moment, but if we were to be abroad in the same place and the same time, somebody would inform us about it.
It is inconceivable for both brothers not to know that both were in Saudi Arabia.
Even if no laws were broken, appearances are important.
For two supposedly smart men, this was very dumb.
26
There’s no mystery here; The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Prince are engaged in arms dealing. Health insurance, give me a break.
21
Ethics and Trump and his ilk? isn't that like an oxymoron?
17
You know what Lincoln said at Gettysburg: ‘These dead shall not have died in vain... so that government by the wealthy, for the wealthy, shall not perish from the earth.’
10
@chambolle How tragic that President Lincoln's enduring words, that comforted and defined this nation, are beyond the ability of Trump to comprehend.
1
Did the Kushners receive $150 million as a donation from the Saudis, like Hillary Clinton did?
Let us hope that the Saudis don't become less hospitable towards Americans in power.
1
@novoad Ivanka received $150 million for her "womens' empowerment fund" from the Saudis.
3
@kj And Qatar bailed out Kushner the Kushners.
2
"Whether Jared Kushner was aware of his brother’s visit to Riyadh or of any Saudi investment in his brother’s funds could not be determined."
Who believes that? Of course Jared was involved in his brother's visit since all he and Ivanka are doing is enriching themselves and gaslighting the public. Where does it end?
44
In 2017, Jared Kushner handed a highly classified American Intelligence document to Mohammed bin Salman.
It was a list of names that American Intelligence Agencies believed, were not in favor of bin Salman's regime.
Salman used this list, to conduct a brutal crackdown of his perceived enemies.
As a reward for his gift to bin Salman, Kushner was bailed out of his Manhattan Real Estate Debt by associates of the Crown Prince. (666 Fifth Avenue. An appropriately numbered building.)
Kushner's ability to line his own pockets, and to line Donald Trump's pockets, is the reason why Trump has granted Kushner a top level Security Clearance.
35
@John Doe
If possible, please share the source for the claim that Kushner shared a classified list of Saudis unhappy with the crown prince in exchange for a financial rescue of his family's potentially disastrous investment at 666 5th Ave.
I've read intimations of such quid pro quo abuses by Kushner, whom national security experts have dubbed a dangerous security risk to the nation, but have never seen any specific confirmation like that which you've mentioned.
If you know something specific, please share, if you can.
20
@John Crutcher This is an interesting read, though there's no hard proof: https://theintercept.com/2018/03/21/jared-kushner-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/
Since this is the most unethical administration going, then Jared fits right in with all the rest.
The terms nepotism and conflict of interest exist for people like Trump that only care about themselves and have no interest in true public service.
Come on 2020.
15
How is it that I cannot even participate in a ticket game given to shoppers for purchases at a local grocery store because my son works there, yet our politicians families and friends are given the winning tickets all the time when it comes to "playing the game?"
Once again, big money is proven too be entrenched into our politics. This is not just a Republican "problem". Having family in government opens doors for ALL of our politicians families and friends. This is a "Democratic" problem. We assure integrity at the grocery store so that no favor is given to employees family and friends, but we don't assure that family and friends from politics gaining access to those in power? Until we do so, we will not have a real Democracy.
31
From Washington Post’s David Ignatius about Jared Kushner’s meeting with MBS in October 2017: “The two princes are said to have stayed up until nearly 4 a.m. several nights, swapping stories and planning strategy.”
Apparently, according to a source who talks frequently to confidants of the Saudi and Emirati rulers, after those meetings, MBS bragged to the Emirati crown prince and others that Kushner was “in his pocket.”
What has happened to our country?
70
@MC
In the pocket of MBS is exactly where Josh and Jared wanted to be! There is a lot of money, priilege, and power in that very deep pocket (or whatever Saudi robes have that serve the same purpose as a pocket. I suspect its something which hangs off a belt since the Saudi robes would hang funny if they had pockets. Where do the guys carry their cell phones and other "stuff?"
The Kushners are bloodied, and covered with the bits of flesh and shards of bone that once were the bodies of honest men. No better than the regimes from whom they peel away their cash, they represent more than the heart of the Trump administration. They represent the heart of the USA. This is what we have allowed ourselves to become.
57
As far as i know, it's quite usual for members of a business family to be members of different political parties, vote for different political parties, donate to the principal parties, etc.; they hedge their bets, or "maximize their profit subject to constraints". Managing constraints is a big job. Let's just hope the election will be a constraint the US Royals will be unable to manage.
6
@Gangulee While not real family, my grandfather and his business partner in Rockland County, NY, were registered voters, one Republican and one Democrat to keep the business on everybody's good side.
I can only guess how my grandfather voted, but it seems likely that it was not for the party he officially belonged to.
7
Perhaps Josh Kushner, “a Democrat who has said he voted against Mr. Trump despite the family connection,” is the face of the exciting new “Jexodus” movement. Remember, the US royal family is all about branding.
4
A family portrait: Josh and Jared being schooled in business ethics and integrity at their (felon) father's knee.
Whatever brother Josh's intentions are, he will have the stain of his family's questionable practices, as well as their association with the Trump criminal family, hanging over his head. A reasonably intelligent business person might think twice before dealing with any of them.
50
The timing does indeed look bad. The worst of MBS' excesses (a term that in itself seems downright demure when used to reference mass Yemeni slaughter and the Khashoggi bonesaw dismemberment, inter alia) happened right on the heels of his latenight lovefest with Jared Kushner.
If it walks and talks like a greenlight from the White House, it probably is just that.
42
Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s son, Faisal, a student at NYUniversity, socializes with Josh. Did Faisal get permission to travel from his female relatives? Does he have a tracking device? Is he allowed to drive in New York?
One would hope that during all this ‘socializing’, the name of Loujain al- Hathloul and the other women jailed, tortured, for wanting basic rights, might have come up for discussion. Maybe Josh said something like....I’d love to have your dad’s Saudi portfolio invest with me, but then no one else would invest- who wants to be associated with a government that tortures women for wanting to drive, travel.
Maybe he said something like that.
54
@Jo Williams
A Kushner would never citicize or challenge a member of the Saudi Royal Family.
I wonder what the Kushners tell Bibi.
Apples never fall far from the tree - elder criminal and dad Kushner.
2
Try to keep a straight face when you read this: 'Whether Jared Kushner was aware of his brother’s visit to Riyadh or of any Saudi investment in his brother’s funds could not be determined.'
149
@Emily Corwith Oh, I got a better one: remember that late-night conversation the two princes first had -- it was reported by the press -- the NYT! -- that they stayed up late talking about Palestinians!!!
2
A sitting president forced a security clearance against the advice of his own intelligence community.
Follow the money.
104
@Yves
It’s OUR intelligence community, not HIS. And where’s the accountability please?
14
Robbery is not an ethical breach, it’s a crime. This is not about ethics. It’s about breaking the law!
53
While you are at it can you also investigate the bush family ties with Saudi royalty going back several decades! Why are the Bushes kosher? Why are the bushes beyond questioning? Why hasn’t George W Bush administration been held accountable for Iraq war? Why is Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats reluctant to question the Bush administration? We need answers because our future generations ought to learn lessons from failed wars and such. Please
73
How on earth is the US going to "re-establish" ethical norms in government after the Trump hurricane which has met incredulity one side and a shrug on the other?
80
Elect Bernie and Elizabeth
21
Jared Kushner was flagged as an official who should not have a top security clearance.Kelly and McGahn were ordered to approve the clearance and wrote contemporaneous notes listing their objections.Trump over ruled the deputies declaring that Kushner must have a top secret clearance.Kushner is making friends in Saudi Arabia and Israel not for the United States but for his own personal financial projects.He answers to no one and there never are reports on the meetings he takes.His security clearance gives him information he should not have-he is an ambassador for Jared Kushner and the Kushner real estate interests.
154
The Kushners are "all about the Benjamins" and Trump will have to answer questions about Jareds proclivity for walking the ethical line and the appearance of evil
40
Yesterday, in response to Michelle Goldberg's article about Ms. Ivanka and Mr. Jared, I submitted and the NYT published the following. It is applicable to Josh Kushner as well.:
The Kushner/Trumps don't have to break any laws to benefit themselves through their official positions in the White House. This is key.
Jared and Ivanka(and the Donald himself) don't need to take advantage of their positions... while they're in office. This is all about making connections for the future for themselves. They look the other way at Saudi Arabia's vicious violent attack on dissidents, including the women Ivanka is supposed to care so much about. They know that if they are nice to the Crown Prince today, they will get opportunities once they are out of office to build hotels in Mecca and Riyadh and financing from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to bail out their other foolish projects.
The Trump and Kushner families could care less about foreign policy or human rights. They will always place their own advantage above the good of the nation and their oath to defend the Constitution. With the Trumps and Kushners, its all about more Benjamins for themselves, today and tomorrow.
119
@BSargent - you comment that the "Trump and Kushner families could care less about foreign policy or human rights" - I hope that's not a threat or dare. What I find remarkable in this piece is that 2017 photo of First Daughter Ivanka pictured in her trousers and heels -- she's so daring to flaunt her pants and uncovered head which will certainly lead to more rights for women and children because quick and progressive international diplomacy is all in the optics, right?
11
Josh Kushner might consider whether crossing onto the spider web is worth the risk of losing sight of his dreams. No matter how innocent his intentions, he can't know the possible costs to him and anyone he interacts with until he's stuck in a place where he can be manipulated, intimidated, and dominated.
23
You are a rube if you think Kushner Trump will put this Nations best interest above building long term business relationships / friendships with the trillionaires and billionaires who sit in power around the globe. Cash, Cash, More Cash is the oxygen they breathe. The bizzaro world irony is that their most loyal and steadfast supporters are financially in the bottom 5%. We are living in a Rod Serling episode.
199
Saudis have been buying off American politicians for ages, with promises for
Rewards after they leave office. This is unique though, in how the rewards are more in real time. Let’s call it progress.
44
@Ivehadit Well I guess its ok if this is how its always been done. No need to address the malfeasance then...carry on.
12
I'm certain Jared Kushner & Individual-1 are giving the Saudi's (home of the 9-11 highjackers) high level intelligence on Iran and other global hot spots.They are being played like a fiddle for Saudi money or Saudi real estate. No matter what they are doing it will not benefit the U.S. or it's citizens, it will benefit Kushner & Individual-1.
164
@June, it appears no one has to give the Saudi’s any “intelligence”!! The Russians and Chinese have hacked it already we hear.
3