Kushner's Legal Troubles: Did He Break The Law?

Jared Kushner, former senior advisor to President Donald Trump, has been accused of breaking the law on several occasions. In 2019, watchdog groups accused Kushner of violating the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act by failing to keep records of meetings with foreign government officials. In 2021, Kushner was accused of violating the Hatch Act by working on Trump's re-election campaign from the White House. Kushner has also been criticised for potential conflicts of interest, as he retained ownership of businesses while serving in the Trump administration. Additionally, Kushner's use of private email and WhatsApp for government business raised concerns among cybersecurity experts. There have also been allegations of nepotism surrounding Kushner's appointment as senior advisor, as well as questions about his security clearance.

Kushner's use of private email for government business

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and a senior adviser in his administration, has been accused of breaking the law in several instances. One of the most notable accusations involves his use of a private email server to conduct official government business.

In September 2017, it was revealed that Kushner had been using a private email account to correspond with other Trump administration officials, including Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, Gary Cohn, and Josh Raffel. The emails typically concerned media coverage and event planning, and Kushner's lawyer claimed that they rarely contained sensitive information. However, the use of a private email server for government business is controversial and can have serious implications for transparency and accountability.

Kushner's actions are particularly noteworthy considering the Trump campaign's criticism of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State. Clinton's reliance on her personal account sparked an FBI investigation, and Trump himself suggested that Clinton should face criminal charges for her actions.

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) expressed concern over Kushner's use of a private email account, stating that it "violates the transparency and openness that the public requires from its government" and "makes it difficult to hold public officials accountable". The SAA also highlighted that this issue has plagued public officials across the political spectrum and that clear laws and regulations regarding public records exist to prevent such issues.

In addition to the private email server controversy, Kushner has also been accused of violating the Hatch Act during Trump's 2020 reelection campaign. The Hatch Act prohibits most executive branch employees from engaging in political activity while on government property or on duty. While a narrow exception allows some political activity by senior political appointees, it does not apply to Kushner, who declined to accept a salary as a Senior Advisor. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint alleging that Kushner was extensively involved in running Trump's reelection campaign from the White House, which would be a violation of the Hatch Act.

Kushner's actions regarding private email use and his involvement in political campaigns while serving as a government official have raised questions about his compliance with the law and the potential consequences for transparency and accountability in governance.

Kushner's involvement in the Trump campaign

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, was a senior advisor to the former president and played a significant role in his 2016 presidential campaign. Kushner was the architect of Trump's digital, online, and social media campaigns, enlisting talent from Silicon Valley to run a 100-person social media team called "Project Alamo". The digital team tested more than 100,000 ad combinations a week, raising over $250 million in small-dollar donations in the final months of the campaign. Andrew Bosworth, Facebook's top advertising executive during the 2016 campaign cycle, called it the "single best digital ad campaign I've ever seen from any advertiser".

Kushner was also involved in hiring staff for the campaign, including Steve Bannon's firm, Cambridge Analytica. He is believed to be responsible for the choice of Mike Pence as Trump's running mate and was, for a time, seen as Trump's de facto campaign manager. Kushner also helped as a speechwriter and was tasked with working to establish a plan for Trump's White House transition team.

Kushner's meetings with foreign officials

Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior advisor to former President Donald Trump, has faced scrutiny for his meetings with foreign officials, particularly those from Russia.

During the transition period to the White House, Kushner met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and Sergey Gorkov, the chief executive of the state-run Russian bank Vnesheconombank, which was under US sanctions at the time. Kushner also attended the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016, set up by Donald Trump Jr. Kushner's presence at these meetings has fuelled accusations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Kushner initially failed to disclose these meetings with Russian officials on his SF-86 security clearance form, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. He signed a legal document that withheld details about significant meetings with foreign officials, including allies and emissaries of Vladimir Putin. This omission raised concerns about Kushner's judgment and prompted calls from House Democrats, led by Rep. Don Beyer, for the suspension of his security clearance.

In addition to the Russian meetings, Kushner has also been accused of breaking the law by failing to keep records of his meetings with foreign government officials, including Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and top Saudi officials. A lawsuit filed by the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) alleged that Kushner and Trump administration officials violated the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act by intentionally neglecting to create and keep records of these meetings.

Kushner's deep involvement in Trump's re-election campaign from the White House has also been scrutinised. According to CREW, Kushner's level of campaign work, which included overseeing fundraising, strategy, and advertising, likely qualified as extensive political activity, which is prohibited by the Hatch Act for employees like Kushner who are not paid by the White House.

Kushner's business activities in China

Jared Kushner's business activities in China have drawn scrutiny from the press for mixing government with business.

In March 2017, a company owned by Kushner's family, Kushner Companies, made a deal with the Chinese firm Anbang Insurance Group. The deal was worth $4 billion, with Kushner Companies receiving more than $400 million from Anbang for their Manhattan office tower at 666 Fifth Avenue. Real estate experts called it an unusually favourable deal for the Kushners, valuing the 41-story tower at $2.85 billion, the most ever for a single building in wealthy Manhattan.

Anbang Insurance Group's previous investments in the United States and its murky links to the Chinese power structure raised concerns over national security. This was especially notable as the deal was made at the same time as planning for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the US.

Jared Kushner stepped away from his business interests in property development and magazine publishing to take on a role as a senior advisor to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. However, his investments in real estate and financial services continued to draw controversy for conflicts of interest.

In 2021, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a private equity firm that has received most of its funds from the Saudi government's sovereign wealth fund. The firm has also received investments from wealth funds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Kushner's role in the Trump administration's COVID-19 response

Jared Kushner, former US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior White House aide, played a significant role in the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kushner was involved in a shadow task force aiding the administration's response to the pandemic and was tasked with additional responsibilities related to vaccine development and distribution.

Kushner's group, characterised as an "all-of-private-sector" operation, operated behind the scenes and was seen as a pivotal force in the national fight against the fast-growing pandemic. Some of the group's successes included airlifting emergency medical supplies, crowdsourcing donations for masks and gloves, and devising a last-ditch plan for hospitals to maximise ventilators. However, the group also faced criticism for duplicating existing federal efforts and prioritising requests from VIPs in conservative media. Kushner's involvement in the COVID-19 response also overlapped with his work on Trump's reelection campaign, raising concerns about potential violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits executive branch employees from engaging in certain political activities.

In May 2020, Kushner was given the additional responsibility of helping to streamline vaccine development and distribution, known as "Operation Warp Speed". The goal was to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2020, which was considered ambitious and overly optimistic by many experts. Kushner was expected to leverage his relationships in the private sector to expedite the process. However, the operation faced challenges due to the use of amateurish volunteers and the difficulty of meeting the accelerated timeline.

Despite Kushner's efforts, the administration's response to the pandemic was criticised for overpromising and failing to meet its goals. Kushner's task force had promised to ship 4 million COVID-19 tests and significantly scale up testing by mid-March, but these targets were not achieved. Additionally, the administration's push to reopen the economy and promote unproven treatments contributed to concerns about their handling of the pandemic.

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