1.7.2017
Egads! We’re not only dealing with Trump’s own conflicts of interest but also his family’s. Jared Kushner – Trump’s son-in-law -- is now deeply involved in steering Trump policy, deciding on appointments, and intermediating between foreign leaders and Trump. And he is on the way into the Trump White House.
But Kushner’s multi-billion-dollar real estate business is backed by foreign money and by big banks, especially Goldman Sachs. According to today's New York Times (and fine reporting by Susanne Craig, Jo Becker, and Jesse Drucker):
1. Kushner was instrumental in getting Trump to appoint Goldman Sachs president, Gary D. Cohn, as his chief economic adviser.How will Americans ever know whether the Trump White House is acting in the interests of America or in its own financial interests?
2. Kushner has received multiple loans from Israel’s largest bank, Bank Hapoalim – now under a Justice Department investigation into allegations that it helped wealthy Americans evade taxes.
3. Kushner is also a major borrower from Deutsche Bank, which recently reached a $7.2 billion settlement with the Justice Department over its sale of toxic mortgage securities, and remains under investigation over allegations that it disguised trades that helped Russian clients move money offshore.
4. When the Chinese ambassador to the United States called the White House in early December expressing concern that Trump spoke by phone with the president of Taiwan, the call was relayed to Kushner. At the same time, Kushner has been negotiating with Wu Xiaohui -- the chairman of China’s giant Anbang Insurance Group, with estimated assets of $285 billion and close ties to the Chinese government -- on a joint financial venture in Manhattan.
5. Several of Kushner’s foreign investors are beneficiaries of a federal program that grants two-year visas and a path to permanent residency in exchange for investments of $500,000. The program is popular with real estate developers as a cheap source of financing. But the U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued several reports raising concerns about the program’s insufficient background checks and lax safeguards against illicit financing.
What do you think?
Source
https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED&fref=nf
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