President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner and a convicted felon, to serve as United States Ambassador to France.
“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 wrote in a Truth Social post, adding that Jared “worked closely with me in the White House.”
Kushner is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and served as a senior adviser to the first Trump administration.
What Trump failed to mentioned in his post on Saturday nominating the elder Kushner for the ambassadorship is that he is a convicted felon.
Charles Kushner was convicted of preparing false tax returns, retaliating against a cooperating witness, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission in 2005, in a case which was prosecuted by then US attorney Chris Christie.
Charles admitted to hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, who was cooperating in a campaign finance inquiry, and then videotaped the encounter and sent it to the man’s wife, who happens to be his sister, to intimidate her from testifying against him.
Charles served more than 16 months of a two-year sentence in federal prison and a halfway program before he was released in 2006. As a result of his conviction Kushner was disbarred and prohibited from practicing law in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
In 2020, Trump pardoned Kushner in one of his final acts before leaving office saying he was devoted to philanthropic organizations and causes.
If confirmed, Kushner would succeed Denise Bauer, a former ambassador to Belgium.
