When President Donald Trump's eldest daughter with ex-wife Ivana, Ivanka Trump, picked her husband, she did not stray far from her roots. The Kushner family—like the Trumps—made their fortune in housing real estate.
Both families also dealt with scandals related to their business dealings. While the Trumps were cited—and lost—in cases involving housing discrimination, the Kushner family patriarch went to prison.
Kushner Companies incurred massive debt purchasing a Manhattan office building in 2007. They also sold most of their apartment complexes in New Jersey to finance the $1.8 billion purchase.
But Kushner Companies is returning to buying apartments with a purchase of 6,030 units in Virginia and Maryland, which happens to be the area where Jared Kushner relocated to work at the White House.
The latest Kushner real estate deal is a $1.15 billion deal. And most of it—$800 million—is going to be backed by the federal government.
And that fact has people crying foul.
And people are asking whether such actions would be tolerated from other administrations.
And people are following the money trail.
The spokesperson for Kushner's lawyer stated in February—when the then proposed deal first made headlines and raised eyebrows:
"As part of an ethics agreement he has and has followed, Mr. Kushner has had no role in the Kushner Companies or its activities since joining the government over two years ago."
“He is walled off from any business or investment decisions and has no idea or knowledge of these activities."
Now that the deal and federal loan backing are official, the White House and Kushner have yet to comment.
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