Trump announces Jared Kushner's father, Jewish philanthropist, as ambassador to France
The president-elect confirmed this in a statement, in which he also remarked on the historic relationship between the two countries.
Jared Kushner served in the first Trump Administration/ Andrew Caballero-Reynolds
Donald Trump announced the nomination of Charles Kushner, a Jewish philanthropist and father of Jared Kushner, as ambassador to France. The president-elect confirmed it Saturday, praising his choice and remarking on the importance of the relationship between the two countries over the years.
"I am pleased to nominate Charles Kushner, of New Jersey, to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to France. He is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests," Trump posted on his Truth Social account.
"Together, we will strengthen America’s partnership with France, our oldest Ally, & one of our greatest," he added.
Kushner, a 70-year-old Jewish philanthropist, has a long business background. He founded Kushner Companies, a real estate company active in New York and New Jersey. For Trump, it is "one of the largest and most successful private real estate companies in the country."
In 2005, he was found guilty of falsifying tax returns, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions, which earned him fourteen months in a minimum security prison camp in Alabama and ten months in a halfway house in New Jersey.
As reported by Fox News, the witness tampering case arose from him paying a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law to have an intimate encounter and for her to videotape it. Kushner subsequently sent the footage to his sister in an effort to keep her from testifying before a grand jury.
At the time, he was prosecuted by then-New Jersey Attorney General Chris Christie, who called the case "one of the most disgusting and repugnant crimes I prosecuted when I was a United States attorney." Christie later served as state governor and was among the three finalists to be Trump's running mate in 2016.
Trump pardoned Kushner in 2020, just a month before the end of his first term, along with Paul Manafort and Roger Stone.
The president-elect also recalled Jared Kushner's time in his first administration, especially his work on Operation Warp Speed, the First Step Act and the Abraham Accords.
LATEST
