Democracy 21 Urges OGE to Act to Ensure that Kushner’s Conflicts of Interest Problems Regarding China Are Eliminated

 

In a letter sent today to Walter Shaub, head of the Office of Government Ethics, Democracy 21 urged Mr. Shaub “to take appropriate action to ensure that Mr. Kushner’s conflicts of interest and appearance of such conflicts regarding his policy responsibilities for matters dealing with China are eliminated.”

Democracy 21 forwarded to Mr. Shaub an April 25 letter the organization had sent to Mr. Kushner that stated:

In the case of your spouse’s business interests in China, including her valuable trademarks and pending trademark applications, we believe you are required by the law and regulations to recuse yourself from all matters dealing with China in carrying out your responsibilities.

The letter to Shaub today noted that the business interests of Mr. Kushner’s spouse also accrue to Mr. Kushner for purposes of the conflicts of interest rules.

According to today’s letter to Shaub:

Reports published about the efforts by the Kushner family in China to obtain investors in the Kushner family business enterprise only confirm that there is a clear and compelling case that Mr. Kushner needs to publicly recuse himself promptly from all policy matters dealing with China.

The letter cited reports published in the Washington Post  and the New York Times about efforts by the Kushner family in seeking investors in China to imply that the influential Jared Kushner can be helpful to Chinese individuals in obtaining investor visas.

According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer:

Jared Kushner cannot have it both ways. He cannot serve as a Senior Adviser to President Trump with unprecedented policy responsibilities and continue to own extensive business holdings, without facing continuing conflict of interest and appearance of conflicts of interest problems.

The latest published reports on the Kushner family using Jared Kushner’s powerful position at the White House to seek investors in China for a Kushner family business has confirmed that he must recuse himself now from all policy responsibilities dealing with China.

According to the letter to Shaub:

This crass effort by the Kushner family to raise large amounts of funding in China and to use government “investment visas” as incentives for wealthy Chinese individuals to invest in the Kushner family business is clearly intended to create the appearance that Jared Kushner and his family can be influential in their obtaining investor visas to the United States.

The letter stated:

While Jared Kushner has divested his ownership holdings in this particular Kushner business enterprise, the effort by the Kushner family to imply that the influential Jared Kushner can help Chinese individuals to obtain investor visas only confirms the profound appearance of conflicts of interest that exist and will continue to exist so as long as Mr. Kushner has White House foreign policy responsibilities for matters dealing with China.

While a published report today in CNN Money states that a spokesperson for the Kushner Companies has said that “the name drop at the event in Beijing on Saturday was not intended to be an ‘attempt to lure investors’ to one of its projects in New Jersey,” this after the fact, self-serving denial does not relieve Mr. Kushner of the obvious appearance problems that Mr. Kushner has in matters dealing with China

This appearance of a conflict of interest by Mr. Kushner comes on top of Mr. Kushner’s actual conflict of interest resulting from Ivanka Trump’s business interests in China and, as stated in our April 25 letter, makes it incumbent on Mr. Kushner to recuse himself from all matters dealing with China.

The letter stated “Democracy 21 believes this matter facing Mr. Kushner is a serious ethics problem that must be effectively addressed” and concluded:

Democracy 21 urges you and the Office of Government Ethics to take appropriate action to ensure that Mr. Kushner’s conflicts of interest and appearance of such conflicts regarding his policy responsibilities for matters dealing with China are eliminated.

Democracy 21 would appreciate your attention to this important ethics problem.