Tag: Jared Kushner

Kushner Companies Loses a Key Motion in Class Action Filed by Baltimore Tenants

The following article by Alec MacGillis was posted on the ProPublica.org website July 23 2018:

A state judge declined to dismiss the suit filed by apartment residents who claim they were charged inappropriate and excessive fees.

A Maryland judge is allowing a class action lawsuit against Jared Kushner’s family real estate company to proceed, in a ruling that denies most of the company’s arguments to dismiss the case over its treatment of tenants at large apartment complexes in the Baltimore area.

The lawsuit, filed last September in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, alleges that the Kushner Companies’ real estate management arm, Westminster Management, has been improperly inflating payments owed by tenants by charging them late fees that are often baseless and in excess of state laws limiting them to 5 percent of rent. The suit also claims that Westminster was making some tenants pay so-called court fees that are not actually approved by any court. The suit alleges that the late fees and court fees set in motion a vicious churning cycle in which rent payments are partly put toward the fees instead of the actual rent owed, thus deeming the tenant once again “late” on his or her rent payment, leading to yet more late fees and court fees. Tenants are pressured to pay the snowballing bills with immediate threat of eviction, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit followed a May 2017 article co-published by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine that described the highly aggressive legal tactics used by Kushner Companies to pursue tenants and former tenants at 15 apartment complexes in the Baltimore area.

View the complete article here.

Jared Kushner lacks security clearance level to review some of the nation’s most sensitive intelligence in White House role

The following article by Carol D. Leonnig, Josh Dawsey and Ashley Parker was posedon the Washington Post website July 12, 2018:

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner was granted a permanent top-secret security clearance in May. Credit: Jim Bourg Reuters

Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and President Trump’s son-in-law, lacks the security clearance level required to review some of the government’s most sensitive secrets, according to two people familiar with his access.

For the first year of the Trump administration, Kushner had nearly blanket access to highly classified intelligence, even as he held an interim security clearance and awaited the completion of his background investigation.

But when White House security officials granted him a permanent clearance in late May, he was granted only “top secret” status — a level that does not allow him to see some of the country’s most closely guarded intelligence, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss security issues.

View the complete article on the Washington Post website here.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump made at least $82 million in outside income last year while serving in the White House, filings show

The following article by Amy Brittain, Ashley Parker and Anu Narayanswamy was posted on the Washington Post website June 11, 2018:

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump collected tens of millions in outside income while serving in the White House last year. Credit: Michael Reynolds, EPA-EFE, Shutterstock

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and son-in-law, brought in at least $82 million in outside income while serving as senior White House advisers during 2017, according to financial disclosure forms released Monday.

Trump earned $3.9 million from her stake in the Trump International Hotel in Washington and more than $2 million in severance from the Trump Organization, while Kushner reported over $5 million in income from Quail Ridge, a Kushner Cos. apartment complex acquired last year in Plainsboro, NJ.

The filings show how the couple are collecting immense sums from other enterprises while serving in the White House, an extraordinary income flow that ethics experts have warned could create potential conflicts of interests. Continue reading “Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump made at least $82 million in outside income last year while serving in the White House, filings show”

Jared Kushner’s Close Friend Rick Gerson Under Scrutiny From Mueller Team

The following article was posted on the Daily Beast website May 31, 2018:

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

A close friend of Jared Kushner’s is of interest to special counsel Robert Mueller for his supposed knowledge of meetings between Trump associates and foreign officials, NBC News reports. Five unnamed sources who are said to be familiar with the investigation say Richard Gerson, a New York hedge-fund manager, was in Seychelles in January 2017 around the same time Trump associate Erik Prince met with Russian and United Arab Emirates officials, including Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. Gerson reportedly met with Prince Mohamed and was in contact with a Lebanese-American businessman with close ties to the UAE, George Nader, who organized the Erik Prince meeting. A spokesperson for Gerson said: “Mr. Gerson was on vacation in the Seychelles prior to the meeting you reference. He knew nothing about the meeting, had left before the meeting was reported to have taken place, and has never met or communicated with Erik Prince.”

READ IT AT NBC NEWS

 

Ivanka Trump now has full security clearance, too

The following article by Alexi McCammond was posted on the Axios website May 24, 2018:

Credit: AP Photo

Ivanka Trump’s security clearance was upgraded to full Top Secret at the same time as Jared Kushner’s upgrade on May 1, according to a person briefed on the matter. The White House declined to comment on this story.

Why it matters: Ivanka’s security clearance status hasn’t always been known, and there was speculation she wouldn’t obtain full security clearance after CNN reported the FBI was investigating one of her international business deals back in March.

Continue reading “Ivanka Trump now has full security clearance, too”

White House Edits Transcript of Jared Kushner Calling Protestors in Gaza ‘Part of the Problem’

The following article by Elizabeth Preza was posted on the AlterNet website May 14, 2018:

The White House tried to quietly edit Jared Kushner’s controversial comment — but reporters have the receipts.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The White House on Monday released an official transcript of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner addressing the opening ceremony for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. In the version submitted to reporters, however, the administration neglected to include an important—and controversial—line from the top Trump aide.

“As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution,” Kushner said during his remarks in Jerusalem. At least 52 Palestinians were killed on Monday in Gaza by Israeli security forces. Continue reading “White House Edits Transcript of Jared Kushner Calling Protestors in Gaza ‘Part of the Problem’”

Whoops! Jared Kushner Made Even More Mistakes in His Federal Filings

The following article by Justin Elliott was posted on the ProPublica website May 3, 2018:

It keeps happening. Jared Kushner filed the wrong information about two of his loans in Brooklyn. He has had to update his disclosure form at least 40 times.

Credit: Reynold/Epa-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock

Jared Kushner’s ethics disclosure filing misstated the financials on two Brooklyn loans, the latest in a long series of errors and omissions on the form.

A Kushner representative confirmed the errors, attributing them to data entry and accounting mistakes. The representative said the figures will be revised in the next annual filing, which is due soon.

The form has been updated at least 40 times since Kushner first submitted it in March 2017. Each update can contain multiple revisions. Continue reading “Whoops! Jared Kushner Made Even More Mistakes in His Federal Filings”

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Offered “Bribe” to Stop Abortions, Says Planned Parenthood Boss

The following article by Harriet Sinclair was posted on the Newsweek website April 4, 2018:

Credit: AP Photo

The CEO of Planned Parenthood has accused Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner of making an offer of federal funding in exchange for ditching abortion provision, a move she claims felt like a bribe.

Cecile Richards details a January 2017 meeting with the pair in her new memoir Making Trouble, in which she says Ivanka and Jared were looking to deliver a “political win” that would mark them out as savvy dealmakers. Continue reading “Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Offered “Bribe” to Stop Abortions, Says Planned Parenthood Boss”

The Kushners Saw Redemption in the White House. It Was a Mirage.

The following article by Sharon LaFraniere and Katie Benner was posted on the New York Times website April 1, 2018:

Donald J. Trump’s ascension to the White House has drawn scrutiny from investigative agencies into the family real estate business of his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times

It was sweet redemption for Charles Kushner last year when his son Jared was named senior White House adviser. A dozen years earlier, a sordid scandal stemming partly from a family falling-out had reduced the senior Mr. Kushner from real estate baron to felon making wallets at a prison camp in Alabama.

Now, with his son newly installed as a top aide to the president, Mr. Kushner even expressed hope, one close family friend said, that he might receive a pardon.

Absolution, however, is not what the White House has conferred on the Kushners. For the patriarch and his family, the pinnacle of American political power has turned out to be a wellspring of trouble.

Jared Kushner is embroiled in the special counsel inquiry, including questions about whether he discussed the family’s business with foreign officials — a suggestion he has denied. His younger brother, Josh, has opposed the Trump presidency, driving a wedge between the men in a family that prizes close ties. Continue reading “The Kushners Saw Redemption in the White House. It Was a Mirage.”

Out of Public View, Trumps and Kushners Are Talking Business

The following article by Ben Protess, Steve Eder and Jesse Drucker was posted on the New York Times website March 10, 2018:

Nicole Meyer, Mr. Kushner’s sister, third from left, at a groundbreaking ceremony for the third phase of Pier Village. Credit Patty O’Neill, The Link News

LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Jared Kushner’s family company recently began construction on an oceanfront development in this Jersey Shore city, a project that has the strong backing of local officials, who agreed to support it with $20 million in bonds.

But unknown to Long Branch officials, the Kushners have been in talks to team up with another family-run company that has an even bigger presence in the White House: the Trump Organization.

The Kushners are in private discussions to have President Trump’s company manage at least one hotel at the center of the development known as Pier Village, according to people briefed on the previously unreported talks. The Kushner Companies and the Trump Organization have signed a letter of intent, though no deal is final and the Kushners are not required to inform city officials. Continue reading “Out of Public View, Trumps and Kushners Are Talking Business”