The arrangement could undermine the ability of the United States to be seen as an independent broker in the region. YOU THINK?
36
Define 'shameless.'
20
Please wake me up when ONE respected Republican Senator "goes Howard Baker" and respectfully asks Trump to resign.
28
Nothing damning here. The business dealings don’t appear to violate federal ethics laws, which require Mr. Kushner to recuse himself only from narrow government decisions that would have a “direct and predictable effect” on his financial interests. And no evidence has emerged that Mr. Kushner was personally involved in brokering the deal.
Should Kushner avoid any business dealings that could have the appearance of a conflict of interest? Yes. He should from now on, but he wasn't involved in the deal and there's no evidence that it has affected U.S. relations with Israel, which sans Obama, have always been strong.
8
I'm shocked, just shocked to learn that politics, business, and money can become so entangled. Who knew?
14
Since. Jared Kushner is a Harvard Don, one would expect that this educated young man would be eager to articulate his interest in protecting America's global interest on the world stage.
However, his silence speaks volumns on that subject.
12
The Trump family has given new meaning to the phrase 'conflict of interest.' Every business deal they make while in office is an example of their own personal business interests conflicting with their duty to act in the interests of the American people. Any day I expect to see a flashing neon sign installed over 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. reading 'Trump White House'.
26
All Americans should have a problem with the intermingling of the private interests of so many high level public servants with foreign entities in particular. Trump, in particular won't let Americans see how in-debted he is to countless foreign banks & private individuals.
31
Where is the outrage? This is not an appearance of a conflict of interest, this is an outright, patently obvious conflict of interest. Where are the checks and balances? The party in power will not lift a finger to check this administration and its cronies. Within a year’s time, the Republicans have let precedents be set that were inconceivable a year ago. Just how low must we go before before Congress puts a stop to this and the assaults on every other governmental institution that holds this country together?
31
No. This is the appearance of a conflict of interest. If you read the article, you would have seen the following: The business dealings don’t appear to violate federal ethics laws, which require Mr. Kushner to recuse himself only from narrow government decisions that would have a “direct and predictable effect” on his financial interests. And no evidence has emerged that Mr. Kushner was personally involved in brokering the deal.
6
Correction: Verb tense, last sentence, should read: " ...that held this country together."
1
Needle threading to excuse the inexcusable.
2
Has The office of the President become a "Tammany Hall"? Is Trump a "Boss Tweed"?
Sure looks like it!
14
But of course, the most pressing problem needing investigation is the Clinton Foundation, which raised money to fund health programs and economic development for the poor.
21
Not only in Israel outwith Russian and Russian connected oligarchs. Kushner is nothing but a slum landlord. Trump's Washington is no longer a swamp but a cesspool.
21
What would have become of Jared Kushner, had he not been born into a wealthy family? He would not have had a place at Harvard, and married a wife, who would later turn out to be a first daughter. Money must be the purpose of his life, but he also knows that power helps generate wealth.
He is seeking to milk a huge fortune from America's foreign relations with other countries and claiming portfolios that should have been assigned to professionals and career diplomats.
Steve Bannon can be right about Ivanka Trump being as "dumb as a brick." Henry Kissenger made a very unfriendly parallel to Greek mythology, when he was asked to vouch for Kushner's prowess that ought to befit Trump's son-in-law as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people on earth. Kissenger thought about Icarus: "All this should help him [Kushner] make a success of his daunting role flying close to the sun." Icarus was given wings made of feathers and wax by his father, Daedalus, and was told not to fly too close to the sun, for fear of melting the wax. Teem with hubris Icarus quickly forgot his father's advice and fell to his death.
9
How can there be a conflict of interest? Trump and Kushner are working in their own interests, and in no one else's'.
12
Oy vey, are you surprised? Kushner will back Bibi and the Likudniks if they push the Palestinians into the Jordan River. Yet, another example of the immoral crooks in the Trump administration and family.
17
Because of figures like corrupt Jared and sleazy Donald running our country an American version of the France revolution is overdue. Heads off!
26
Maybe she didn't know what she was doing, but Kathy Griffin warned us about this very possibility. Remember Louis XVI?
2
Keep up the good work Jared and Ivanka; someone has to show support for the only real democracy in the Middle East.
1
How is it a real democracy if they i prison 2 million people without any rights?
16
It’s not a PERCEPTION of conflict of interest. It IS conflict of interest.
31
Just imagine the gun toting outrage if President Obama even got as little as a free sandwich. But Trump and his know-nothing spoiled brats suck down tens of millions in homage bribes from sleazy international politicians and that's fine. Pathetic.
37
You failed to mention the extortionately costly security detail which is an exceptional part of the Trump regime. No other previous president required both standard Secret Service protection in DC AND at his hometown, which just happens to be New York City..... how can ANY Trump supporter rationalize this egregious waste????
20
Beyond sleazy. This wannabe imperial family of con people and its associates appear to be using our federal government for their own enrichment. If those are grounds for impeachment and prosecution, what is?
41
this country has to have some standards for whom ever wants to be in office. seems I have more where I work and if I don't follow them , I am gone. with these people, they can lie, hire family in positions they are not qualified, clothing line made in china, financial dealings all over the world that might mean conflicts of interest. we need higher standards period. but those who need them won't agree.
11
The picture says it all...the little man-child and Malibu Barbie, jetting around the globe (on our dime) to solve world peace.
Exactly WHICH qualifications does Kushner have that confer his status as senior adviser to anyone? Exactly WHY is Ivanka's meticulously-coiffed head in the background of every photo of every senior-level meeting?
I truly want to cry.
42
Only another international skunk, like Bebe, would give any creedence to this hack.
9
Kushner is a thug and a mobster just like his former fed prisoner father. Why do people give this crime family a pass? Imagine if the Clintons or the Obamas had federal criminals as in laws? The trumps are trashy low life crooks just like the kushners.
33
Netanyahu is filled with and driven by fear. Fear of being obliterated, dispossessed, possessed, of unimportantance, of being underfed, unlanded and never having enough. As he acts on those fears he collides with the world creating fear, anger and retaliation. He becomes the prime tool of Israel’s undoing, though he doesn’t think so.
Trump and crew have entangled the United States with this self destructive child. May God save us.
14
Jared and Ivanka;s children will surely fight the war BiBi so desperately wants us to stage in Iran.
6
"Clinton's financial ties to Palestine deepen even with mideast diplomatic roll."
Imagine that headline when Clinton was Secretary of State? How many investigations do you think that would have launched?
These odious people have made our government a joke. Exactly what they wanted. Up is down and down is up.
Thanks Trump supporters.
25
You cannot trust people who do not talk. No transparency Kushner is the biggest crook of them all. He is the son Trump really wanted. I’m hoping our Special Counsel will get to the bottom of the Kushner Shenanigans. This admin only cares about lining their own pockets. The new tax plan was their first step. So I’d like to know what is really going on in Israel. How are they going to get rich with crooked Bibi?
18
The Trump family - grifters on and all.
18
Kushner desperately needs money to save his family business because of his decision to get involved in the 666 5th Ave. building..It was possibly the motivation for his undisclosed meeting with a Russian bank..Now, Trump recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel while Kushner is supposedly engaged in bringing peace to the Middle East, angering the Arabs so much that the head of the Palestinians has excluded the U.S. from future peace negotiations..So Kushner left with no role..Why was it important to do recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital now? Guess..
14
Kushner needs to resign from the White House. It's unethical for him to continue advising the President or represent the United States in any capacity with these conflicts of interest.
13
I am surprised this administration hasn't hung a "For Sale" sign on the front of the White House because it is clear the country is for sale if it benefits the Trump family.
14
What do the Russians, the Israelis, the Saudis, the Trumps, and the Kushners have in common? Follow the money. . . .
11
Careful readers of the NYT will recall that the Magazine did an excellent piece on "Kushnerville", the Baltimore empire of Kushner the slumlord. One of the most telling parts of the story is Kushner's use of the judiciary to railroad poor people out of shelter. Now that the slumlords are even further away, this situation can only get worse.
9
So Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton, "...perhaps the most corrupt person ever to run for President of the United States."
That, friends, is yet another definition of chutzpah.
17
@Edward: Amen to that!
2
"Perhaps" is the key here. We know who is "certainly" the most corrupt person to run, and 'almost' win the vote. Sometimes DT's statement reveal the stable genius he is.
2
Enraged Palestinians dismissed Kushner as an honest peace mediator in June 2017 for relaying Netanyahu's demands. And he is still considered American envoy to the ME by Trump? How incoherent. Once more.
7
Why the prevarication on the part of so many media articles reporting specific high dollar financial entanglements between Trump, Kushner, Tillerson, and others and the countries with whom they are creating and negotiating American foreign policy? A much-needed $30 million dollar investment in your company from a country to whom you award a favor like the move of the American embassy to Jerusalem despite it being for decades on the international"table" for peace talks doesn'r "raise the possibility of perception of conflict of interest." It is the definition of conflict of interest. No other president could have gotten away with this.
13
This is a "once in a lifetime money-making opportunity." Why would Mr. Kushner let his business interests affect his judgment? As the White House press secretary reassures us, "he takes the ethics rules very seriously." Kushner is a notorious slumlord. His properties are poorly maintained and his treatment of the poor folks who live there is aggressive and sometimes even illegal. Note that Mr. Trump inherited $23 million that his own father stole from a public housing program for the poor. Why wouldn't the Israelis want to put $30 million into that kind of property and management team? Why wouldn't they want to loan millions to Kushner whose father spent time in prison for financial fraud? US foreign policy is a bargain at those prices. The appearance of impropriety is just that and nothing more. Kushner is as honest as they come, an honest broker working hard to solve the middle east dilemma.
Hillary. The Dems do it, too. More Hillary. Fake news. Cheers.
4
Typical NYT's fare. The anti Semitic undertones that permeate this story are palpable. Israel is our staunchest ally in the region.
3
What does that ally do for us, other than constantly demanding our resources and goodwill? Can they survive without our handouts?
7
Dear Steve,
The New York Times is anti-semitic? Typically? Really?
7
As a Jew (and as an American) I resent this comment. A crook is a crook no matter how (or if) he or she prays.
15
We must hold our complicit congress accountable for allowing this corrupt, greedy, self dealing, money laundering crime family run the country, destroy our institutions and pollute our environment so that the wealthy may rob our treasury
#Every vote matters
Get your ID
Register to Vote
Show up on election day
Drive others to the polls
11
About a year ago, I could bet money on the fact that we all said there were numerous conflicts of interest with his swift rise in the ranks of trump's camp/cabinet/entourage. Somewhat later, we were subjected to seeing a cabinet that made it look like America was up for an 80s style corporate break up where key services were going to be sliced off and privatized (education) and/or removed/made ineffectual (EPA).
The swamp is still there however it is more corporate flavored and backwards than it was ever before.
3
This is concerning, but it’s doubtful that had Hillary won these types of issues wouldn’t be the norm. It’s time for clear guidelines on how family members/ staff are to conduct business.
1
Uh, no.
Clinton would not be trying to influence and purge the Justice department. Clinton would have a clean separation between business interests and serving the nation (blind trusts...like every President before, etc). The Clinton family members would have no part in the White House function.
The Trump/Kushner's are a special type of Grifter that you have only seen in 3rd world countries before this. This will go down as the most corrupt administration, ever......and, even then.....people in the Fox-Universe will still be blaming the Clinton's.
10
Oh, come on.... There's no way to both-sides this. The president's son-in-law--in a government position he has no business occupying given the misrepresentations during his security clearance process--is using his privilege to prop up the finances of his family's businesses. That's self-dealing in plain sight. There's no valid evidence that "these types of issues" would be "the norm" in a Clinton presidency. And no, the nattering of unhinged right-wing conspiracy theorists doesn't amount to evidence, no matter how loudly it's amplified across Fox and other conservative media outlets.
3
I didn’t vote for Trump, I saw this coming. But anyone who doesn’t think both Hillary and Bill were selling access to our government while SoS, in anticipation of reciprocity once she was elected President, is fooling themselves. Notice how the CGI had to close its doors due to lack of donations once she’d lost the election. Those monies weren’t meant for Haiti.
"a deputy White House press secretary, said .... he (Jared) takes the ethics rules very seriously and would never compromise himself or the administration.”
Yeah, he takes it so seriously that he has lied dozens of times about his contacts, connections, sources of finance and business interests since day 1.
If Jerusalem does become Israel's capital, history will record that as a purchase by Israel by millions of dollars worth of bribes, direct and indirect, to Trump and Kushner clans.
17
American companies are not lending to Kushner.israelis think he is the best president ever so it is a good idea to lend to his son in law.
3
"But the deal last spring illustrates how the Kushner Companies’ extensive financial ties to Israel continue to deepen, even with his prominent diplomatic role in the Middle East. The arrangement could undermine the ability of the United States to be seen as an independent broker in the region."
Uncle Sam "seen as an independent broker in the region"? By Whom? After Bibi's 29 standing ovation in front of Congress and Trump's intention to move the embassy to Jerusalem does anyone on planet Earth actually believe this?
15
Why should anyone be surprised about the lack of ethics from Kushner or Trump? If there weren't no quid pro quo, nor smoking gun if you will, the ultimate exam is the Appearance Test, and clearly that fails with Kushner.
Still, there has been a long history of unethical appointments of Americans to posts that essentially support Israel's interests, not America's. Normally there is this revolving door between Israeli funded American "think tanks" like AEI, who provide a stable of pro-Israel advocates to work in the NSC, as ambassadors, and my personal favorite, to "peace" Israeli-Palestinian negotiation teams.
The only difference is now, Kushner is simply doing what Trump is doing: brokering deals for himself; to outlast what may not possibly last one more year. Either way, Israel has clearly been the beneficiary for a long time.
10
I know that none of is perfect, but Jared Kushner I hoped was. The brain inside the boss’s unstable Tweet-filled head; the guy expected to keep a watch over Breitbart’s own Steve Bannon; the Prince-of-Darkness in waiting to deliver a miracle peace to Israel and the Palestinians,
Husband also of Ivanka, herself a whirlwind of real estate, made-in-China pocketbooks, dresses and jewelry, not to mention phoney-baloney allegiance to the cause of women’s rights,
But here he now is -- caught up to his eyeballs in Russians and Times’ exposures of shady real estate and money laundering dealings; so that even I -- a man ordinarily eager to hand errant billionaires second and third chances -- have begun to fear that he’s been a nothingburger of a political savior all along.
Say it ain’t so, Jared. Fess up. Do the right thing, Be a man. Confession is good for the soul and frequently holds down the prison time. Tell the American people what you know. I guarantee they'll put in a good word for you at the parole hearing.
12
As a linguist, I have paid attention to the use of the invidious phrase ‘so-called’ for a long time. People use it to cast aspersions by implication on someone or something without having the courage or clarity to state their objections. In what way is any deal with Jared Kushner NOT connected with Donald Trump, Kushner’s father-in-law who has raised him to dizzingly high levels as White House adn
5
What opportunities does the Kushner involvement in Israel provide to the blacklisted entities and their supporters?
How does the current article relate to the recent one on Israeli blacklisting?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/07/world/middleeast/israel-bds-boycott-d...
Where can I find a ranked list of ongoing humanitarian atrocities? Where does the Palestine situation rank?
3
Trump's presidency is entirely an intentional conflict of interests, with influence peddling and corruption at the core. It's not at all about America and the American people, but all about Trump & company's ability to loot the nation. That the foreclosure bailout king is Secretary of the Treasury affirms this.
11
Can anyone provide any evidence at all that Jared Kushner is anything but an empty suit? Has he ever said or done anything that any newspaper bothered to report? (Other than he seems to be a fairly accomplished slumlord.) He (and Ivanka) are just accidents of history, skating along behind the biggest electoral mistake this country is ever likely to make.
15
jeez, what a shock; a member of the trump family financially benefiting from his government position. one imagines that the house ethics committee response will be the complicit, 'silence is deafening', one that they consistently employ since walter shaub resigned after disgust, as the ruling royal family has transformed our democracy to the monarchy that its become. there would be blood in the streets if chelsea clinton would blatantly violate the emoluments clause as the blithely indifferent trump family does, daily. what a 'tale of two cities' nightmare our political environment has devolved into.
8
Imagine if Hillary Clinton had installed her son-in-law in the WH and such conflicts of interest were revealed! The Republicans would have burned down Washington!
13
Bill and Hillary may have the dubious distinction of being the only couple in politics with a son in law that is dumber, and more crooked, than Jared.
1
What's the big deal? Kushner is a player. Hundreds of multinational companies have "quietly" established R&D centers in Israel over the past 20 years. Israel has more start-up and development stage companies per capita than anywhere else in the world. Read the book Start-Up Nation for a clue. Israel is one place where the smart money is these days.
2
Not sure Israel's startup culture is relevant to a discussion of Kushner's unethical behavior.
5
Huh? Is Baltimore in Israel now? The reason I ask is that the story is all about an investment by an Israeli company into Kushner projects in Baltimore; this has nothing to do with "start-up nation" or investments in Israel. Indeed, the fact that Israel is such a growing center of high-tech development makes it even more unusual that an Israeli company would choose to invest in something like Kushner slums in Baltimore.
5
It is highly discouraging for the average American to practically every day be four-fold slapped: firstly with the blatant open act, next with a detailed description of the dispossession that such train of deceptive individuals cause to their own compatriots and to the land that conceived, nurtured and enriched them, thirdly by their impunity, and fourthly by the relevant deafening muteness and frenetic inaction of our politicians.
8
We talk about Russian influence in the election this is something way bigger than most want to know. The Israelis have been controlling the US for a long time that is why everytime they need the US money we jump everytime and we are also fighting their wars using our sons and daughters and our treasury for it. It is time Americans wake up and smell the coffee.
12
We shut down Apartheid South Africa for running an apartheid regime and we are supporting Apartheid Israel . Have we lost our moral compass ?
7
How many donations did the Clinton Foundation receive from powerful Russians and Israelis? I'm sure the NYT is not very interested in that.
1
Are you suggesting that one should not report on a bank robbery today because you think the bank was also robbed a couple of years ago?
4
So what? Kushner and his team were so obviously in the bag for Israel that this is nothing new, not news. They own him. He is entirely bought in to one side. Fair? Laugh when you say that.
21
Just another reason to boycott Israel and wait for Kushner to be indicted for money laundering. All the damage these people do have done . . . As to Israel, I will always take the word of Nobel Peace winner Rev. Desmond Tutu, "I have witnessed the systemic humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children by members of the Israeli security forces," he said in a statement.
"Their humiliation is familiar to all black South Africans who were corralled and harassed and insulted and assaulted by the security forces of the apartheid government."
28
One thing we are discovering is that rules that depend on action from Congress are grossly inadequate when the party in control of the White House, Senate, House and Supreme Court has no interest in enforcing them. Rules against nepotism or politicians using their positions to enrich themselves, are useless even in the face of the most blatant violations as long as Republicans are in total control our government.
18
Good. If he gets anywhere near as corrupt as former Secretary of State Clinton then we can A) go after him with a vengeance in the pages of American Pravda aka the NYTimes or B) we can pretend nothing’s unusual or wrong and eagerly defend him at every turn. The former in the event he remains a mainstream republican and the latter if he joins the liberal bankster cartel that controls “all the news that’s fit to print”.
2
Or, you could C) argue the issue at hand and refrain from the "yeah, but what about...!" nonsense arguments.
"Even with" or "because of, unsurprisingly" ?
What's this article? Why not simply list all the paid Kushner minions who feel the need at this moment to defend his "ethics". Golly, we're stupid and all, but this nonsense doesn't convince anybody. It's frankly disgusting. And it compromises the security of our nation.
1. White House press secretary, said the Trump administration has “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.”
2. Christine Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Kushner Companies It “does no business,” she said, “with foreign sovereigns or governments, and is not precluded from doing business with any foreign company simply because Jared is working in the government.”
3. The deal was “not done because of the so-called connections of Jared Kushner or Donald Trump,” Mr. Markman said
4.The White House has said Mr. Kushner would work with his ethics advisers to ensure he recused himself from “any particular matter involving specific parties in which he has a business relationship with a party to the matter.”
5.Abbe D. Lowell, a lawyer for Mr. Kushner, said in a statement: “Jared Kushner has not been involved in, nor spoken about any Kushner Companies’ activities or project, since shortly before the Inauguration. He has an ethic...
2
Netanyahu paid a paltry amount for the embassy move to Jerusalem and now have the Kushner's under their thumb. Not satisfied with that hostile move against the Palestinians, Netanyahu now wants United Nations relief cut off to Palestinians.. Tell me this isn't criminal!!! This is the new Holocaust.
13
It's called The Nobka ... The Tragedy .
1
Princess Ivanka can't pour enough of her made in China perfume over herself to eradicate the stench that emanates from her and the rest of the Traitor Trump clan.
18
Two words: organized crime
12
Like father, like son.
Otherwise, I'm enjoying the heck out of watching Trumpists and leftiver sanderites try to pretend that Hillary Clinton and Obama are every bit as bad.
11
Remarkable isn't it?
The brazenness of this group is beyond measure. They might as well hoist the Israeli flag over the White House and have the Bureau of Engraving send them pallet board loads of Benjamins fresh off the press.
The thieves have blown the safe. (And Congress just sits there.)
13
They already had Congress -- see the speech Netanyahu gave Congress bashing Obama.
8
Correction. They already had in Congress.
Mark Thomason wrote:
"They already had Congress -- see the speech Netanyahu gave Congress bashing Obama."
Do you think the quid pro quo was a Jerusalem embassy in exchange for the $30 million?
1
"The business dealings don't appear to violate federal ethics laws...no evidence has emerged that Mr. Kushner was personally involved in brokering the deal".
But, what the heck. Mr. Kushner is a Jew AND Trump's son-in-law, so let's engage in some good old jurinalistic trash mouthing. Let's quote plenty of sore loser Dems and Reps - they add lots of credibility and authenticity.
Peace process. Who cares about that. Peace don't generate no clickbait. Snark and snide do.
The Choir gotta get their daily raw meat feeding. Sad, Times.
2
I hope by now Ivanka has divested herself of any thoughts of running for office. The Trump brand is fatally tainted for most of the world by now. She won't be able to flog a pair of pants in TJ Maxx by the time they're out of the White House.
13
The arrangement could undermine the ability of the United States to be seen as an independent broker in the region....
[ "Could," is a very, very hopeful word. ]
8
The current executive branch of the US Government is a criminal enterprise on it's best day.
12
For a while there, the NYT was calling a spade a spade with clarity we hadn't seen for a very long time. Now, we're back to, "Well, maybe this is what it seems, but someone says it isn't so we have to give that opinion space on the page, too...."
Sad.
4
Trump, Kushner, Manafort, Flynn, the little Trumps are all thugs, thieves and grifters. "Conflict of interest" means nothing to them. Meanwhile the GOP thugs are cranking up a new probe of the Clinton Foundation which actually does charitable work.
16
I'm Jewish and bought real estate. Does that make me a diplomat?
7
How can Jared Kushner be the lead player in America's role in bringing peace in the middle east? His bias towards Israel is so readily apparent. Bibi Netanyahu slept in his boyhood bedroom. He is knee deep in financial deals with Israeli companies. No wonder people are so cynical. Will Jared and Ivanka's children fight in the war these Necon's so wish for?
12
US Elected Politicians have spent our Social Security surpluses and borrowed trillions of dollars that all American taxpayer must service and repay for its meddling in the Middle East. This is jeopardizing our economic and national security.
The US has been connected to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the Middle East, many were innocent people.
Most people around the world will likely agree the Trump administration and Elected Politicians have been manipulated by others, inside and outside the US, and have not presented the US as an honest broker in the Middle East.
The Middle East has resulted in US National Insecurity! If the US has legitimate “National Security” reasons to be in the Middle East it must publically spell them out for all Americans to understand. The Middle East is “Making America Poor Again!”
Otherwise the US should get out the Middle East. We have enough oil and technology to “Make America Great Again!”
We must find a way to hold self-interested Politicians and their staffers, from both parties, personally liable, responsible and accountable for the lies they have told US, their gross mismanagement of our county, our $20.5 T and growing national debt (108% of GDP), and our $100 T in future, unfunded liabilities they forced on US jeopardizing our economic and national security, while benefiting themselves, their staffers, their party and special interest donors.
http://www.USDebtForum.com
http://www.facebook.com/USDebtForum/
@USDebtForum
3
Trump's biggest scam yet was bringing his family into the White House to cash in
using taxpayer's money to assist them. They use Air Force One for their own business dealings. How are they allowed to negotiate American policy? The entire clan are grifters enriching themselves at our expense.
11
The Prince Consort, of sleaze. They sicken me, the hypocrisy is revolting.
Trump fans, YOU deserve them. Seriously.
12
Mr Kushner has his headquarters in a building at 666 Fifth Avenue. The Devil's house.
7
Pay for play much?
Organized religion is usually a desire to cover up crimes why would Kushner be excepted
2
What a nauseating photograph...Jared and Ivanka before the helicopter.
What has happened to us?
4
Is it coincidental that Kushner has interests in Israel and Trump pushes for moving our embassy to Jerusalem?
7
There is no surprise here. Just disgust.
8
Where's the "special investigation" of Jared Kushner?
4
"A large Israeli bank subject to a criminal investigation" gives money to Kushner, but nevermind, no laws were broken.
10
Israeli government and its connected supporters appear to have
issues of corruption at home and abroad.
Genius operators these NY Real Estate folk.
Remind us again how much DIRECT AID the USA gives
to the Israel each and every year.
How many "beaks are wetted" on both sides?
5
Makes you wonder who wrote a check to the Trump family to get them to move the embassy to Jerusalem. And how much it cost.
5
We know who . Sheldon Adelson paid trump $25million .
Kushner and Scaramucci are over in Israel lapping up all the money they can carry. It is the worst abuse of position our country has ever seen.
4
Remember folks, the "trumpsters" don't care they are like lemmings.
Follow #45 anywhere!
1
Nepotism, greed, secret deals, all from one of the most ignorant persons to ever step into the White(Nationalist) House.
Of course, I mean Jared.... Fred Trump was never in a position to put Dim Don into the most powerful duty in the world as #45 was for Jared.
And what is it with Israel, always on the wrong side?
Supposedly they are our ally.
I've never seen it.
6
Sure could use Mike Flynn chanting:
LOCK HIM UP, LOCK HIM UP!
3
There are so many conflicts of interest and ethics violations in this White House it reeks of a sewage plant. And having a blatantly pro-Israel Jared Kushner in charge of "Middle East peace" is like making Adelman the honest broker. Kushner is a know-nothing pipsqueek, Trump's stupid Jerusalem announcement killed any chance of a two-state solution and hardliners in Israel's Knesset put the final nail in that coffin with their latest vote on Jerusalem's boundaries. Bottom line: Trump proved yet again that he is as bad a deal maker as he was a casino owner in Atlantic City.
7
From today's DealBook:
"Caveat: The NYT says that recent deals don’t appear to violate federal ethics laws, and Mr. Kushner appears not to have been personally involved. He has sold stakes in some Kushner Companies properties, like the 666 Fifth Avenue office building in Midtown Manhattan."
So the purpose of the article is?
2
Nothing to see here; move on, move on.
The only reason the media has left this story alone is the fact that they are Kushners. If they had been say, O'Keefes, they would've been attacked by the media on day one and never allowed to remain in office for this long.
6
Much more than people think. Mossad was aware of what Russia was doing to subvert the American political system so as to prevent Clinton from entering the White House. A little over a year ago, Former Mossad head Efraim Halevy specifically referred to the Russian IW (Information Warfare) attack on the US as "a successful cyber age intelligence operation. Israel allowed Russian companies involved as contractors with the Kremlin's cyber operations to hire former Israeli intelligence and cyber officers who had served in Israel's elite cyber-intelligence units as consultants.
Israeli intelligence was aware as early as 2012 that Russia was beefing up its cyber capabilities regarding IW in a way that indicated it was possibly planning a major IW assault. The only viable targets fore such an offensive are the US and other major Western countries. Israeli intelligence, which under normal circumstances would warn its closest ally about an impending attack against it, did nothing. Netanyahu regarded Obama and the Democratic party as hostile to Israel, and firmly believed that promoting a Republican victory was a key Israeli national interest.
As a former journalist (former Editor in Chief Maariv International and ITV Channel 2 English website), I stand behind every word here. TPS, an Israeli news agency ran a story about Halevy's statement, but for whatever reason, it failed to gain traction.
7
With this crowd, it's not "conflict of interest" it's "a conflict, I'm interested!"
1
We were already in trouble with "conflicts of interest" when an Orthodox Jew was selected to be an impartial negotiator between the Arabs in occupied Palestine and the Jewish occupiers in Israel, and when, without any concessions from the Israelis, we said we were moving our embassy to Jerusalem. This Israeli investment only adds to the stench already emanating from that which is American foreign policy in the Middle East.
4
Greed is good.
Greed is godly.
Greedy Old Party knows how to keep the Ruling Class rich.
4
It is not "perception" that Trump and his family members are seeking to profit from this charlatan's position of power. It is offensive to see Kushner and Ivanka in that photo, using my tax dollars to further their own gathering of wealth and avoidance of taxes.
6
Using his office for financial gain . . . is anyone surprised at this?
6
Excuse me, but "perceptions" of conflict of interest?
1
The title of this article should be "Kushner's Financial Ties to Israel Deepen Because of His Diplomatic Role". Look for the quid pro quos.
3
The real pinata is the Kushner's, they are corrupt, and Kushner Pere is terrified that he will be exposed. Keep digging there NYT: that is the key to unraveling this farce of a "presidency".
3
I agree with Howard Dean. Trump is "running a criminal enterprise out of the White House."
3
Where is the Dem champion pushing for an inquiry into this obvious Cnflict of Interest?
We cannot let any of these types of actions go. NONE OF THEM!
3
Follow the money and you will be rewarded. It is always about the money.
4
I'm not feeling rewarded. I feel sick.
3
How long before the proverbial hits the fan and Donny throws Kushner under the bus?
2
For those who preach the power that Israel has over the US government, this story adds credence. It appears Mr. Kushner's religion influences official US policy. Unelected family ties promotes corruption.
7
Menora is a financial firm without any political agenda and all this is only making rumors without base
Trump is moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem? And Kushner & Co. gets a $30 million dollar investment? By all appearances it's a Quid pro quo.
7
This all seems a bit fishy to me and not too much different than what Putin does in Russia.
1
The US was never an honest broker. At best, it slowed Israeli ambitions. Kushner peddling his influence is probably the perfect way to end this depressing farce. I hope people never forget but of course they will.
3
He takes money directly to his own business from a region where he is directly arbitrating, but they are complaining about the Clinton Foundation taking money to build schools for impoverished girls from people she had no direct involvement with. Which of these is the FBI investigating?
9
Collusion? if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck then there is a greater likelihood then not (as they say in Civil Court) then it is a duck. This of course is unless you are dealing with alternative reality. He learned well at the knee of his daddy. The kid is arm pit deep in alligators and they are beginning to drain the swamp. His problem is that someone is on his tail. Granted we don't know all the facts yet.
2
We don't have a President. We have the Trump Family Syndicate cashing in on Trump's greatest "reality T.V." role yet.
Even ignoring the tax dollars wasted so Trump can play golf on weekends, these people are clearly cashing in on the Trump Presidency. Remember Kushner's sister promising the Chinese she could help because Trump is President?
And these people have the audacity to complain about the Clinton Foundation, which spent hundreds of millions of dollars helping the poor. The FBI is forced to investigate that over and over again while meanwhile the Trump Family Syndicate is looting the federal treasury to pay Trump's properties, and the Emoluments Clause is being violated regularly.
105
So much wrong with what you wrote I don't know where to begin. Apparently you don't like the idea of the "Trump Family" making America great again. Is it bad for foreign countries to invest in us? Apartment building that are needed get funded by a foreign bank! Oh My!
All the wasted tax dollars so Trump can play golf... He doesn't take a salary nor do other in his family. How is he wasting our money?
Clinton Foundation spent hundreds of Millions all right. Like the gold mining company it set up with Hillary's brother in charge of in Haiti.
Please provide references to your data sets with names and the proper references including date and source. And Hillary was not my candidate. And yes she is duplicitous going back as far as the Rose law firm.
I'm glad the New York Times is being aggressive about determining the nature of the business ties between the Trump administration and foreign governments. Just be sure that the attention spent is consistent with the attention spent on the Obama, both Bush and Clinton administrations. Some of the lines are very fine and it is easy for a partisan to overlook a line being crossed when one of their own steps over it, then yell like crazy when someone they oppose even gets close.
2
The Bushes, Obama, and Clinton are footnotes of history. If you have any specific malfeasance regarding them, then please enlighten us.
4
Robin E. Textor: Well then, we have not yet paid nearly enough attention to Trump&co. business ties and foreign entanglements, not by a long shot. In fact, outright transgressions have been ignored or forgotten because of the sheer number of "incidents" Trump&co. generate on a daily basis. Remember the AG Trump paid off with Trump Foundation money, to drop a case? Or the Trump portrait bought with same, to decorate his personal rooms?
For sure, it will take a very long time and much more scrutiny to come near the amount spent on the Clintons - and more Clinton investigations are being opened by this Justice Department, as we speak. Incredible.
3
Robin,
You and your ilk expose your partisan ways when you post such. Taxpayers, including you, have been on the hook for the over $100 million spent investigating the Clintons for the past 30 years. And I guess you missed the myriad stories the NYT posted on HRC and her emails and the Clinton Foundation. Really?
And you really think your side wasn't searching, searching, searching, high and low, for anything and everything to hang on President O. That is downright laughable. Perhaps, just perhaps, Barack Hussein Obama is the thoughtful, honest, honorable, intelligent, intellectual and hard-working man you all pretend he isn't.
To paraphrase a great writer, better to be silent and thought a fool than to post and remove all doubt.
Really.
3
"The very rich are different from you and me."---Thomas Wolfe in "The Great Gatsby. Wealthy families and "connected" politicians in BOTH ruling-class parties use their government influence, inside information and "old school ties" (e.g., Skull and Bones) to enrich themselves using OUR tax money. Wars and foreign aid allow them to "launder" money outside the scrutiny of US media back to defense contractors like Halliburton and Blackwater, and Wall Street investment firms like Brown Brothers Harriman. They also rake in tons of cash by making speeches to special interest groups which receive political favors from them. The Rockefeller oil empire, Bush family investments in weapons manufacturers and oil, the Clinton Foundation's receipt of huge donations from Saudis, and the Trump family's ties to Russian "oligarchs" are a few examples. We working stiff "suckers" including small businesses shoulder almost the entire burden of government by paying federal income taxes to Uncle Sam for our hard, honest work. Let's replace the federal income tax with a "1% solution": a 1% tax on ALL assets, including real estate, stocks, bonds, all securities, cash deposits, luxuries like jewelry, yachts, expensive cars, and art. It is not so easy to hide tangible assets by hiring secretive law firms in the Caribbean, though I'm sure some of the "very rich" will try! The late, wealthy NYC hotel heiress Leona Helmsley said, "Only the Little People pay taxes." Let's tell Congress to change that!
7
Tom Wolfe did not write The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald did.
2
are you saying Wolfe wrote Gatsby, or that he was given this line of dialogue by Fitzgerald?
meanwhile, back at the failing ranch, an excise tax on property would probably fall hardest on those least able to afford it.
F. Scott Fitzgerald "The Rich Boy"
“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we
are. They are different. ”
3
The Trump administration is solely at the service of their own personal interests. Not a word or action is taken about the fundamental issues to public service. Not one of them is caring for their country or fellow citizens. It's only greedy insanity to pass policies and executive orders to get more personal profits as long as they can hold on to power.
They have no higher thoughts about the fate of the earth and people living on it. They're allowing digging pipelines for more fossil fuels to the detriment of the planet - they do not feel an urgent need to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, dramatically reduce wasted energy, and significantly shift our power supplies from oil, coal, and natural gas to wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources.. They do not move to put an end to genetically modified food; no policy to protect people and the environment from toxic pesticides by taking the first step to stop Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup; to reduce health care costs and improve patient care; to strip the Food and Drug Administration of its monopoly control over pharmaceutical development; to stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia to Yemen and other countries and so on and so forth. Pharisaic people are all gathered presently in Trump's administration who have been put there to do the slimy job i.e. pleasing the 1% billionaires. He is full of self-love. He demonstrates every single day how wicked, vain and dishonest, he is.
8
Political agents need to stay away from conflicts of interest.
Kushner is still pursuing his deals and real estate swindles.
Its so blatant it dwarfs Trump's missteps.
12
"Perception" of a conflict of interest?? The whole point of the Trump presidency, it seems, is to bend official U.S. policy toward whatever makes Trump and his brood richer.
America is now officially a banana republic.
20
Yes, but ..... Hillary MIGHT have offered the POSSIBILITY of face time with herself in exchange for donations to her CHARITABLE foundation.
Interesting how Republicans always make a Huge deal of anything remotely questionable that Democrats do, while ignoring Republican activities that are 100 times worse.
11
First, the photograph accompanying this article beautifully illustrates the disconnect between a glamorous facade and Kushner's main business: being a vindictive slum lord.
Second, the notion that this young man would never violate any ethics rules is undercut by his frequent need to amend his security clearance documents by acknowledging more than 100 contacts with foreign government representatives, after initially claiming none.
If Mueller appears to be taking too much time to report out on the results of his inquiries, it must be because he has too much material to work with.
11
Think of all of the highly qualified, highly educated, smart, talented, young men and women who could be serving the United States government right now but for Kushner and the Trump tribe.
9
None of these bright people would not want to be associated with this administration.
1
'But he remains the beneficiary of a series of trusts that own stakes in Kushner properties and other investments.'
As a matter of equity and statutory law, trusts don't own anything. A trust is not a company, limited or otherwise. A trust is not a firm. A trust is a fiduciary relationship between one or more trustees and one or more beneficiaries.
The trust's trustees own realty on behalf of the trust's beneficiaries. A trustee may be a natural person or a legal person such as a company.
This distinction is important but rarely stated correctly by journalists and others. In the case of the trusts benefitting Kushner, the NYT's reporters need to identify and name each of the trustees and each of the other beneficiaries.
6
It's no conflict, it's a convergence of interests.
Republicans are going after Clinton's CHARITABLE foundation again, but this Presidential advisor's PRIVATE BUSINESS acquires thirty MILLION dollars while he's on the job, as an official representative the USA, AND that's NOT a problem? This is no player-hating of a "successful" businessman. You're either one (A government official) or the other (a private businessman) but you CANNOT be both at the same time. That Kushner has a free past for that speaks volumes about how Republicans couldn't care less,
10
It is hard to understand exactly what the quid pro quo would be here. So the large Israeli company invests with a Kushner owned property. But the US already has very friendly trade with Israel so it's hard to see what the administration might do that would benefit this company specifically or in general. Still, there is at least an optical problem here and Kushner needs to acknowledge and address it. One important note: any impropriety here, or even the appearance of impropriety, underscores the challenge that Hillary Clinton would have had negotiating with just about any country.
1
SJG: "One important note: any impropriety here, or even the appearance of impropriety, underscores the challenge that Hillary Clinton would have had negotiating with just about any country."
Wrong. I have yet to see any significant financial dealings surrounding the Clintons, outside of the Clinton Foundation, except some that have already been thoroughly investigated over the years (multiple times!). The Foundation itself is a heavily regulated entity, as are all charities - especially the big name ones like the Clintons'. That has to take far less effort parsing pay-for-pay than the byzantine financial dealings of Trump and his cronies, all having operated private businesses or being privately employed (with Trump still operating some, at least as a shill).
Consider this: we STILL have not seen Trump's tax returns, except for a partial 2005 reveal. And I still remember Trump's sons bragging about all the Russian money they see, before the recent avowals by their father that they do NO business with Russia.
Trump's lackeys keep throwing opponents' optics at us, while they get away with actual transgressions right in front of our faces. If this stuff gets normalized, we might as well link arms with Putin and go full oligarchy without the pretense of democracy - save time and money.
2
Once again, just follow the money.
7
Investments in Kushner Companies are VERY safe. . .until the first Tuesday in November, 2018, anyway.
4
Now we can see why President Abbas refuses to participate in the bogus "peace talks" that Kushner was spectacularly bad at arranging among the Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans. It's time for the UN and the EU to mediate, now that the US's supposed peace-making delegation has been exposed as a ruse that had nothing to do with peace-making and everything to do with enriching the Kushner family.
10
The treasonous acts of this lightweight oligarch would not matter so much if it didn't affect the standing of the USA throughout the world. As shown by the recent contempt by the entire world community for Trump's position on Jerusalem, they are day-by-day contributing to America's diminished status as a world power.
7
Americans worship greedy, corrupt people and use them as role models.
This will never lead anywhere good.
7
Foreign agent and swindler -- perfect fit in the trump family. Why isn't this an ethical violation -- lying, hiding your worth, not able to fill out a form (the rest of us would have been fired or arrested for our lies)? Truly craven individual -- who is our top foreign advisor, no less!
9
Will we now see more about "collusion" by Israel, not only Russia? The Flynn indictment makes clear there was influence from Israel, including from Netanyahu, for Trump's transition team to intervene to try to prevent a UN resolution unfavorable to Israel and undercut what was then official US government policy. What else has Israel done during the campaign, the transition and thereafter to influence Kushner and Trump's team in ways that would provoke outrage if another country like Russia or China was involved?
30
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump met privately during the 2016 election campaign with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss policy issues.
It's strange that we don't see kushner in the limelight anymore with regard to assisting trump. And now we know why! He's busy doing business or he "forgot" that he had investments in Israel. Yeh, right!!!!
32
The Russian interference case has pointed out Kushner's efforts to use his political position for monetary gain. That was one of the main issues about Trump refusing to give up business dealings after he became president. Netanyahu is under a corruption cloud in Israel and now Trump and Kushner who are very interested in using their political position for financial gain are being helped by Israeli banks and Menora. The giant tax cut Trump received in the recent Republican tax cut travesty just shows the misuse of his political office for financial gain.
36
Two points: First, it is completely clear by now that the Trump and Kushner families are just like Putin & his crowd and the Communist Parties of at least China and Vietnam--simply out to milk as much out of their people as they can, legally and/or illegally. And we are well on to having a Justice Department dedicated to helping them in their efforts. Second, the United States has never been an honest broker between Israel and Palestinians. Consider, for example, that most of US Foreign Aid budget has always gone, off the top, to Israel, to do with it whatever it wants--including stuff clearly illegal even in Israel. Whatever went to Egypt & others in the immediate region was--and still is--there simply to create the appearance of fairness. This has been going on as long as I can remember, and I'm now 82.
55
The US of the Third World: is it just conflict of interests what we are talking about or plain corruption out there in the open? It didn't star with Trump -oh the Clintons! but he and his entourage have taken it to a level that does not diffrentiate much from the oligarchies and autochracies of lands that are systematically portrayed in the Times and beyond as, well corrupt to the core.
17
The Clintons did not pull this stuff.
1
Kushner makes great financial deals in Israel to enrich his company. Afterwards, his father in law announces the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem. Sure, there's no quid pro quo here- it's a witch hunt. " Even a blind man can see the truth".
85
“I think it’s reasonable for people to ask whether his business interests are somehow affecting his judgment,”
"Ask" whether it has somehow affected his judgement? I think one need not wasting time on 'asking'. It would affect anyone's judgement. For Jared, he has demonstrated that he and his family will go anywhere to get money...anywhere.The conflict of interest, while possibly not illegal, needs to be made illegal in the future. When the Trump machine is gone, congress must pass stringent legislation banning nepotism and forcing our future Presidents to divest of all business ties as well as keeping their relatives out of government.
41
Truly sickening. Jared the foreign agent acting as senior advisor to the president in order gain profit for family business and the entire federal govt. allows it to happen.
86
No one will miss Trump and his ethically challenged brood when they have been escorted out of government service. Well, perhaps unsavory elements in the Middle East, Turkey, and Russia will miss them.
Part of the reason the Mueller investigation may last a good deal longer than a year is the depth and breadth of questionable financial dealings involving Trump and his inner circle. We don't know the half of it, but congressional republicans clearly want the whole thing to go away. It does look really bad when your Party is closely linked to enterprises that may be both treasonous and criminal.
It kind of makes you long for the days when a private email server was the greatest threat to the republic.
52
But, my friend, who in the world is going to "escort" them? Certainly not the current, despicable, Republican Congress. Many of them are, themselves, in the kleptocracy.
3
Donald, I don't care if it's a brass band as long as they're gone soon and face appropriate legal consequences.
Really, is this a surprise? Of course not. Anyone who thinks that the Kushner's are involved with mediating a middle east peace, needs to head their heads examined. Furthermore, anyone who believes that the Kurshner's would have the slightest idea how to mediate a peace...same.
31
"Could" fuel the "perception" of conflict of interest? It DEFINES Conflict of Interest. LOCK "EM ALL UP!
22
“The business dealings don’t appear to violate ethics laws, and there is no evidence that Mr. Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, was involved in reaching the deal.“ - NYT
Kushner has done everything by the book to prevent conflicts of interest. You can’t blame him for the fact that he comes from a wealthy, business family. You can’t blame him for “perception” issues. Perception is in the eyes of the beholder. No matter what he does, those who want to perceive him negatively, will.
2
Jared's father did multiple years in federal prison for tax fraud. And his family is not wealthy, but chained to a Manhattan skyscraper that is deeply in debt and losing value.
Jared himself has amended his security clearance documents so many times to acknowledge meeting with foreign emissaries -- when initially he claimed no such meetings -- that one would think you'd be aroused to apply critical thinking to the situation.
2
If it walks like a duck and quakes like a duck it is a duck. People voted for this administration because they wanted something different. I don't think anyone voted for the family to loot the United States and the rest of the world. How much money is enough for these privileged people. No we are not looking to be negative but the American people are not fools , as they take our health care our public schools, old pensions I will not try to be negative in my feelings about these do nothing family members who are the swap dwellers.
2
That is absolutely absurd. He has by no means done everything by the book.
It will catch up to him, just like his omissions on his security forms have led to the revocation of his clearances.
Just like his father, who went to jail for extortion ( hiring a prostitute for his brother in law, filming there interactions and sending the video to his sister) .
They are SLEAZY people
2
Four (& 1/2) words that are used to rationalize thieves, murderers, and, marauders, for centuries: "I'm just a businessman."
10
"[T]he ethics laws were not crafted by people who had the foresight to imagine a Donald Trump or a Jared Kushner.”
We need to codify what is and what is not acceptable behavior for a president and his family so this never happens again. This is getting embarrassing.
15
"Kushner’s Financial Ties to Israel Deepen"?
Kushner's blatant commingling of personal business dealings and profiting ("hugely") from them with a public role is corrupt and a blatant conflict of interest.
The idea that getting $30 million from someone with a vested interest in the politics you're also involved with (a pattern no doubt repeated many times by Kushner and the Trumps) can somehow be isolated and "doesn't matter" beggars belief. And this shows how totally corrupt they are--and also what an utterly corrosive effect they're having on any sense of honestly, public service as its own end, and the very workings of good government. How will the moral compass ever be restored?
24
What Middle East policy has Jared Kushner originated? Donald Trump campaigned on promises to comply with the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which requires the United States to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Kushner was 14-years-old at the time the bipartisan act passed by votes of 374-37 in the House and 93-5 in the Senate.
2
Right. And never mind the money changing hands.
Jared Kushner is clean as a whistle.
I've got a dead mouse for sale, cheap. How 'bout it?
1
How do you explain the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995?
1
To refresh your memory, Jared is a) directly linked to Israeli right-wingers, b) supposesly there to bargain peace.
Pretty kewl, for a slumlord.
If it isn't yet clear to all that the Republicans are enabling the Trump's to commit the biggest financial scam in history, then there is no hope for this country or the next.
13
The picture says it all. Tillerson as accompanying person. The Kushanka's more concerned about image. The tragedy is the lack of substance. The travesty is that corruption is given credibility.
14
The U.S. has never lived up to the role of neutral mediator between Israel and the Palestinians. Our lawmakers, craven and lacking in principles as they are, have always given Israel whatever it wanted, whatever the cost to the Palestinian people -- or the standing of the U.S. around the globe.
Kushner, though, is adding a particularly sordid chapter to this story with his corrupt financial self-dealing. It's a sickening spectacle.
23
It is clear that we need stricter black and white rules about such abominations.
No longer are "guidelines" sufficient---we now have a government that has ignored and taken advantage of loose "guidelines" to line their own pockets.
Sadly, Americans must assume that our leaders will, at the end of the day, will be working for their own advantage, not our country's.
14
No surprises about Kushner. He is just another member of this transparently disgusting, self-serving, integrity-challenged crowd.
18
It is pure hubris for Jared Kushner to have accepted a post in the administration for which his entire background is one giant disqualification. He and the family-run Kushner company are symbiotically linked through financial and real estate transactions to powerful Israeli interests. There is no way the Palestians could ever view him as an impartial broker. Take the Israeli money, Jared, but get out of government. You are not a policy maker. You will be so much happier wielding your power over your impoverished Baltimore tenants who don’t have the means to make your life difficult. If you choose to stay, don’t be surprised at the blowback. You asked for it.
25
Yes, it was a mind-boggling assignment. It had only the virtue of pulling back the curtain all the way on the US as an honest broker, which, in the end, may benefit the Palestinians when Israel refuses to accept any other broker. That will cause movement, perhaps to a one state solution, or to an official apartheid.
This is "Global Trading" in action. In my view, the Pirates of the world with no sense of Patriotic duty. I ask you; if Trump is such a patriot, why is he invested around the world instead of here in America? The U S A hat is a good prop for the gulables watching TV, but that's about it and where it ends.
If you're honest with yourself, you'll agree that the Trump embassy move to Jerusalem and biased support of Israelis should assure the continuation of hostilities in the middle east and worldwide terrorism for many decades to come, because after all, that is why Terrorism occurs, out of hatred of Israel and their abuse of Palestinians and theft of their lands. Don't get me wrong; I love Jewish people as well as Palestinians but their secular opportunistic leadership is duping the religious Jews to have them follow their empire building ways. The same theft of lands occurred here in America. No wonder the people there call themselves the "State" of Israel.
In specific reference to Kushner's investments in Israel; it's growth investment as long as the Israeli Government is stealing Palestinian land at gunpoint. It seems to me the Trump's and and their Republican likes love to use government power to make money. I call it Communism.
11
I'm disgusted that Jared and Ivanka jet around the world play acting at being government employees while simultaneously enriching themselves, advertising their brands and engaging in quasi quid pro quo behavior to benefit themselves and their companies while shaping international policy.
Disgusting!!!!!!!
30
Jared fits right in with the Trump menagerie. He is an entitled airhead whose father's money got him into Harvard, and who embarrasses the human race every time he opens his mouth, gazing into the camera with his lost-boy eyes.
We don't have film of the Bourbon Court in 1788, but they could not have been worse. People in awake countries like New Zealand and The Netherlands are laughing their asses off.
145
Mike, the whole world is laughing.
And it's not "with"....
2
Mike--What I really love, about these two, is that neither would hesitate to throw the other under the bus! Wonder what it's like to never be able to trust Anybody? No wonder they're all paranoid sickos.
2
I really don't understand the odd satisfaction some people get from thinking that other countries are laughing at the US.
First of all, no one is laughing. Repeat, no one is laughing. I live in Europe and no one here that I know thinks that what's going on in the US is funny. Frankly, people are scared, have their own poltical and personal problems and really have no energy for smug laughing at the US. It just isn't happening.
And, not for nothing, but do you think the Netherlands and New Zealand don't have their own corruption problems? Every single country does.
1
Kushner cares nothing about public service, just like his wife and father-in-law. He cares only about how this position he holds can make him more money.
The deal was “not done because of the so-called connections of Jared Kushner or Donald Trump,” Mr. Markman said. “The connection to the president was not an issue. It didn’t make us do the deal, it didn’t make us not do the deal.”
Yeah, right. And the new tax bill will hurt the Trumps and the Kushners terribly.
128
I don't understand how anyone inside of this Federal Government especially in the Republican side of the Congress finds this kind of conflict of interest and most likely self dealing for personal financial gain, not troubling, illegal and more importantly off limits worthy of a investigation if not criminal activity.
Instead the Republicans like to chase down continually Rabbit holes like Benghazi, and now the Clinton Foundation with respects to the long red herring of uranium one and Russia, the GOP are irresponsible in trying to cultivate and perpetuate conspiracy theories they have been driving into wasting tax payers money to avoid the actual corruption.....The Trump Family!
83
They don’t find it illegal because it’s done by all of them too, albeit the old-fashioned way (quietly, privately). They just look on in breathless, wide-eyed amazement (with a side of admiration) at how brazenly open Trump and his ilk are about their nest feathering.
8
It is clearly a case of nepotism and conflict of interest. I wonder what Kushner learnt in Harvard other than making money is less than honest ways.
35
making money is less than honest ways.
He learned that from his father, who went to jail.
1
Never have so few so done so much harm to so many as during the nascent Trump regime in the United States. It takes a twisted mind or blind faith to ignore the largely opportunistic impulses which motivate the members of this regime to engage in toxic geopolitical polices against the long term greater interests of both American citizens and all parties involved in the eternal Mideast Crisis.....
114
For all the furor about Russian intervention in the internal affairs of the United States, hardly a word is said about the activities of another foreign state--Israel. One could make a very long list of shenanigans by our well-subsidized "ally" and its domestic lobbyists (unregistered, despite the 1937 statute).
And now we find that the money flow is bi-directional, that Kushner has gained personal financial benefits for his pro-Israel activities. If it took only 30 million dollars to move the embassy to Jerusalem, which is really a great price! That was a "great deal," as his official "advisee" say.
66
i have supported and defended Israel from the day I was born and will till the day I die. But this has gone too far. "go ahead - build all the settlements you want - my father in law will look the other way. besides . . i am on the board of a settlement construction firm and stand to profit from their approval".
It is a disgrace.
10
The US has never been an honest broker. Kushner, with his various forms of ethically dubious entanglements, has only drawn attention to the absurdity of the pretence. All the US efforts to allegedly support Israel has doomed its future as a Jewish and democratic state.
23
Whether or not he was personally involved in negotiating these deals makes little difference. The fact remains that his business is now beholden to an Isaeli bank for loans it desperately needs. Kushner knows this, so no way can he possibly be impartial.
224
And Trump & the Republicans want the Clinton Foundation further investigated for pay-for-play!
2
The entire US Gov't is beholden to Israel via AIPAC.
Thank heaven we still have a free press! How would we know what is going on without one? Keep up the good work.
94
Well, not so free as that. The economic and political connections of the Kushner family to Israel have been general knowledge from the onset. Yet these have rarely been mentioned in stories about JK's laughable 'peace mission' activities.
8
Kushner is, in strictly non-legal parlance, what we refer to on the street as, a "crook."
226
The entire Trump administration is one giant conflict of interest.
125
Once cannot solve anything in regards to ''peace'' when one is blindly supporting one side ( and profiting from ) that is subjugating in every possible way the other.
There is a land, power and money grab going on and this individual ( along with the entire family ) is right at the center of it all. ~ woefully inexperienced at the job at hand, but expert in the theft behind the scenes.
77
So legally the trumps/kushners are getting away with what amount to bribes and access to funding because of their political clout. May be "legal" but it sure isn't ethical.
Looks like the latest gold rush is DC rather than California, and many of us will be helping fund their get-rich-quick scemes. Repulsive.
61
Jared Kushner is a real estate 'tycoon' from New Jersey and New York. That Trump sees him as a 'middle east Diplomat' is another joke foisted upon America by Trump the stable genius.
Jared is a walking conflict of interest 24/7. Who is going stop him?
207
Trump is totally owned by Israel. He and Kushner should be required to register as foreign agents along with many in Congress. Remember, Russia was contacted during the campaign originally to aid Israeli expansion plans! The Russian investigation should be re-named for the Israelis.
Israel gets at least 38 billion US taxpayer dollars every year, and uses a portion of that to co-opt our officials to get more money and more advanced weapons. This parasite relationship lead to the "endless war" in the Middle East and should be the issue in each Federal election, if we want to take back control of Our Country!
63
The fact that Jared Kushner is a serious policy advisor to the President of the United States is a complete joke. Regardless of his business conflicts, this guy would be working in a cubicle were it not for his daddy’s money (I.e. admission to Harvard). For the good of the nation, he needs to take his clueless valley girl wife and disappear from the national scene before he does further damage to the prospects for Middle East peace.
173
I supposed in Jared Kushner the Donald sees a younger version of himself?
What happens when 666 Park Avenue goes bankrupt? Guess Kushner should ask his father in law for advice on that one.
13
This is yet another example of the First Family to capitalize on the presidency.
If there is any cohesion whatsoever in the Trump White House, it’s between Trump and his progeny.
10
Irrespective of his influence in the White House, if one looks (hopefully Muller will find a way to do it) they will find many irregularities in Kushner's business practices. Like father like son!
Kushner leaving his current job and pardoned by Trump is a much bigger possibility than Trump forced to leave his presidency.
15
What more needs to be said about this administration. They seem to do whatever they want to enrich themselves. These 4 years are a business venture for their "brand" and we the American people lose. Where is the Republican Congress and Senate ~~ is this Trump administration also to benefit their financial future too?
We are in a trap.
19
Perhaps such cases of obvious and arrogant skirting of norms, nevermind laws, will spur the new Democratic congress in 2019, to start passing laws closing loopholes in the real estate business.
The one thing we can trust our current crop of Republicans to rationalize and repress is failing to consider the unintended consequences of overreach. Their libidic greed is just to powerful.
11
Since the Balfour Agreement that changed again the future of Israel and Palestine, the area has only been close to any kind of peaceful agreement when Rabin was in power. Bibi pushes for the settlements and now he has a partner in the "White" House in addition to the president his father-in-law and the agreements for deals are underway. As Richard Painter points out in this article, if Kushner and his businesses receive money and deals are ok'd, where are the honest brokers? Too much money, too many settlements, too much conflict.
19
Perfectly stated. thank you.
3
The 2 state solution is dead--- Palestinians too stubborn, Israelis too aggressive. There will be a de facto or de jure annexation of the West Bank by Israel before Trump leaves the White House.
There will never be justice and equal representation at the bargaining table for the Palestinian people with the Trump Administration. It's all a charade. I also doubt that the Justice Department will thoroughly investigate these banks with Sessions at the helm.
27
Kushner is on the dishonest path and it is dishonesty at its highest to do business with Israel while working on diplomacy. I am astounded at this government's penchant for mixing money with so-called diplomacy. The Democrats must win in 2018 and put a cease and desist to all of these illegal entanglements, as the Republicans just consider it the new norm.
10
I convulsed with laughter at the words, “honest broker”. Good Lord. We haven’t been an honest broker in almost FORTY YEARS.
10
Kushner is the "Secretary of Graft and Corruption".
His many official titles are a diversion from his real activity of capitalizing
on his father in law's position for financial gain.
Look up the actions of Kushner's father in relation to his jail sentence and his involvement with prostitutes for the purposes of extortion.
These people are completely despicable. Vulgar criminals.
16
And yet the FBI is still investigating the Clinton Foundation, an actual charitable organization, about pay-for-play during Hillary Clinton's term as Secretary of State, a term that ended five years ago.
The Kushner/Israel connections are highly suspect, and are happening NOW, possibly affecting US security and international relations NOW.
So, we just have to wait until some nefarious pay-for-play actually happens? Until it's too late to remove this unqualified and tainted Trump relative from his position of authority?
Why he maintains his security clearance despite this and his Russian dealings is unfathomable.
13
This administration is so utterly, blatantly corrupt that nothing shocks Americans. This should be grounds for instant resignation, yet it just fits in so seamlessly with the Trump modus operandi that there is no apparent outrage. It is a measure of how far American democracy has fallen in the past year.
13
The perception that the United States is a disinterested and/or honest broker in the Middle East could only be believed by
exceptionally naive people.
17
What peace efforts are we talking about here? You mean brokering a deal where the United States look the other way while the saudi and Emirati dictators dominate the Middle East in return for giving Israel control over the totality of the occupied land of Palestine? Does this deal really need an honest broker?
12
"...simply because Jared is working in the government"
That says so much right there, that they think he "simply" works for the government. He's a senior advisor to the President!
Not that any of this matters, there's no reason to think that he's at all qualified to try to engage in brokering peace in the Mideast. But that's what this administration is about, employing unqualified people in every possible position.
9
Why does Jared Kushner still have security clearance?
15
The Trumps are corrupt to the core and have been at least since grandpa Trump.
If the proper laws were in place Don the Con would never have been inaugurated.
7
What blatant examples how dominant legal corruption is in the US today!
No laws were likely broken, but only because the laws themselves were created to serve people like the Kushners. Why participate in illegal corruption when legal corruption gives so many rewards?
10
while your tone may be sarcastic, therefore people won't take your comment seriously, you have pointed out a major problem - how does a society define corruption, where are the red lines on the slippery slope and how are the laws enforced? many countries on the transparency international list of countries perceived to be corrupt are beginning to figure out that they don't have to change their corrupt practices, just need to "legalize" them and make them "transparent". if a law is passed that says a country's president can take 3% of revenues from state-owned oil refineries as compensation for the burden of leadership, well then, where's the corruption? it's the law! think that unlimited and unidentified special interest funds should not flow into campaign coffers? because that's corrupt? well then, just have a supreme court ruling that imbues corporations with the same rights as individuals, but without the campaign funding restrictions that apply to individuals - and voila! - it's no longer corrupt! it's legal!
corruption flourishes where nothing is sacred and cynicism abounds.
3
I am in complete agreement here. US legalization of corruption if of course more sophisticated than in poorer oligarchies. US laws are therefore said to apply equally to everyone--but so may of the laws themselves are carefully shaped to benefit a few a lot more than the many. "Equal under the law" becomes meaningless if 'the law' itself has corrupt intent.
1
In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.
Anatole France, 1894
2
Trumps and Kushners are always about money. I find it upsetting I do not see more news about Mueller digging into these families’ finances. More money is always their goal, please look into all their finances!!! They do whatever they want, just look at them parading at that diplomatic trip, without any merit for being there, they parade like the most entitled people on universe.
7
I can't wait to see how Trumpists spin this one.
3
See above, apparently the Clintons have not been investigated enough.
Is there no end to this family's greed?
8
Why on earth should anybody be surprised by this? Trump is in this for the money, his daughter is in this for the money, his son-in-law is in this for the money, matter of fact the whole Trump clan is in this for the money. Yeah, they will throw you a couple of crumbs while he gets the whole enchilada and more. Nothing but wholesale robbery of the US Treasury and abuse of the Presidency to line their pockets. Your crumbs will soon disappear, their enchilada will out last you and your children.
7
The "perception of conflict of interest"?? The "perception"??
9
The Kushners are just as corrupt as the Trumps. Too bad Jared didn't learn from his dad's mistakes.
6
Ivanka, as reported, should be "terrified" of the widening Mueller investigation. Russians, Russians everywhere with their bundles and bundles of laundered cash. And to think that this grifterette had the fantasy of becoming President some day!
6
Oh give it a break already. You don't like Kushner nor anything he stands for as he has committed the cardinal sin of marrying into the Trump family. Attempting to find malfeasance in every action he takes, investment he has made or those he is associated with get old. Go look at the Clinton's and the Clinton Foundation for a while if you'd like to unearth serious financial and ethical concerns; about time someone did just that.
1
I'm not sure how to break this to you but Clinton isn't in the White House setting policy.
2
Not only is this a pathetic display of both nepotism and conflict of interest in the rubble of any peace pact between Palestinians and Israeli`s; but it once again shows what a joke the Trump Administration has become. There is zero chance of a 2 State solution with Kushner being involved. Netanyahu knows he can do virtually anything he wants with the blank check being written in the White House every day. While I have supported Israel for decades now; it has become sadly obvious to the entire world that the U.S. government can no longer be taken seriously as an honest broker for true peace when Kushner is up to his eyeballs with this revelation of conflict of interest. SAD!
5
Jared and the Kushner company is a perfect example of what is so wrong with America. Excessive leverage in real estate deals. This will not end well for the Harvard graduate or his family. The Kushner family owned the building that the chef Guy Fieri's restaurant was located in Times Square. The restaurant was pulling in $17 million a year in sales but still could not afford the $1.6 million yearly rent.
6
Kushner’s ties to Israel, his family’s donation to the settlement effort and his hawkish views should have been the subject of more reporting before the election. Trump continues to distract the media with his daily tweets—probably their main tactical purpose. And the media is obsessed with his “mental state.” But what else hasn’t been reported on enough?
162
Ms. Kushner (he is registered to vote as a female) is in stark violation of the Emoluments clause. He is an official of the United States, although neither appointed nor confirmed. He has been tasked with what would NORMALLY be the job of an experienced high level State Department diplomat with Portfolio
Since he is doing that task and is representing our nation, or more accurately representing HIS company, he is breaking US law and the US Constitution by continuing to do private business with foreign national and government ins that capacity.
Not even Ivanka will shed a tear when he is indicted.
99
Jared's father Charles Kushner was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering, and served time in federal prison.
It's so nice to know that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
309
Even better in this case, Socrates: The Apple doesn’t fall far from the horse.
4
*Could* fuel the perception? Hey, um, NYT? We don't need to play the "all opinions are equally valid" card here. This is an obvious conflict of interest. Let's get radical and simply start printing the truth without feeling like we have to placate that fantasists each and every, shall we? Take a lesson from Jake Trapper this weekend.
344
Well said.
1
We're hundreds of years overdue for an ironclad rule against nepotism. Others were 10000% more qualified than Kushner (e.g. Bobby Kennedy, John Quincy Adams [ secretary to his father for awhile]). Nevertheless, most institutions, public and private, have rules against it for a reason. Too many politicians live in hope that they too can someday get into a position where they can hire relatives.
245
There is a problem with this article in terms of its rather narrow focus on the legalistic issue of compliance with the letter of the law in matters of conflict of interest. The much broader issues are ones of the beliefs and allegiances of the key actors, which perhaps matter more in the context of trying to broker an agreement between opposing parties in a land conflict that goes back in history well over 2000 years with legitimate rights and claims on all sides. The US could have perhaps contributed more effectively to this endeavour were it perceived as an even-handed broker unconstrained by the baggage of certain diverse and powerful domestic interest groups which would appear to have a major influence on foreign policy.
130
the " land conflict " does´t go back 2000 years, just 100 years since
The Balfour Declaration. Before that everything was quiet for 2000 years.
4
We need even-handedness in the region. Obama's stance, especially vis-a-vis Iran, may be sorely missed in the coming year, I fear. This powerful domestic interest group, symbolized by Kushner, may drag the US into war with Iran.