US Politics Mega-thread - Page 8983

Jared Kushner "enriched himself" by not revealing his ownership of a real estate tech business that raised millions of dollars while he served in the government, said a member of the House Judiciary Committee, calling it part of a pattern of unethical behavior that he believes should cause the White House Senior Adviser to be stripped of his security clearance.

Congressman Ted Lieu told Newsweek that Kushner's failure to list a company called Cadre on his initial financial disclosure forms—an oversight that could mean millions for the president’s son-in-law—is an ethical lapse that should have severe ramifications.

"It appears [Kushner] ended up being the beneficiary of that omission," said Lieu, a California Democrat. "He enriched himself by failing to disclose the asset."

Kushner’s lawyer has said that her client’s failure to list Cadre on the initial filing in March was merely an "administrative error." But that "error" allowed Kushner to maintain a stake in the start-up at a time when the three-year-old business doubled its venture funding from rich private investors.

Kushner's failure to cite Cadre on his financial disclosure form came as the Office of Government Ethics was deciding whether to grant him a Certificate of Divestiture, which requires incoming government employees to divest "100% of all financial interests" from listed companies so they don't violate conflict-of-interest laws. It also allows those government employees to sell their assets without paying heavy capital gains taxes.

The timeline suggests more than just an inadvertent oversight, but an effort by Kushner to hold onto Cadre rather than be forced to divest his interests in the emerging company, according to ethics experts.

On March 9, Kushner submitted his original financial disclosure form to the Office of Government Ethics. It did not specifically list Cadre as one of Kushner's assets, though he co-founded the company with his brother, Joshua Kushner and his Harvard classmate Ryan Williams, who remains Cadre CEO.

The company was already attracting attention in New York's real estate and tech circles because of its promise to disrupt both industries by allowing investors to buy shares in real estate developments much like they would buy shares of companies on the stock market.

Kushner’s lawyer says Cadre was not specifically cited on the March 9 form because his holding company, BFPS Ventures, acquired his interest in Cadre on February 17. That transaction appears to be noted on his financial records as a $100,000 to $250,000 sale.

But that amount does not match subsequent disclosures. When Kushner finally amended his financial disclosure form on July 21, he valued his interest in Cadre from $5 million to $25 million.

That disclosure came after Cadre had raised $65 million more in venture funding from major donors including Andreessen Horowitz, adding to a list of prominent venture capitalists such as Democratic donor George Soros and tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel.

The disclosure form suggests that Kushner has not fully divested from Cadre. Indeed, a representative for the start-up told Newsweek that Kushner maintains "a small, passive investment," but has "no operational or advisory role," describing the cofounder as "an early investor in the company."

Government watchdogs have a problem with Kushner’s continued ownership of Cadre.

"Mr. Kushner co-founded Cadre and continues to own a significant part of it," the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wrote to then-Ethics Office Director Walter Shaub on July 6. "As a result [the Ethics Office] appears to have granted the certificate of divestiture based on incomplete information."

Shaub, who resigned on July 19 from the ethics office complaining of the Trump administration's disregard for conflict-of-interest guidelines, never signed off on Kushner’s Certificate of Divestiture. Instead, it was approved by the office's general counsel, David Apol on July 20, the day after Shaub quit. Apol replaced Shaub the next day. The New York Times described Apol as having "a much more cordial relationship with the White House" than Shaub.

Kushner's failure to include the full value of Cadre in his initial filing likely allowed him to hold onto most of his interest rather than be forced to divest, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says. And had Kushner revealed his ownership in Cadre, the company might not have been as attractive to investors, who would obviously be keen on putting money into a company so closely linked to a person inside the White House. A Kushner representative admitted that investors would certainly have known about Kushner’s holdings in Cadre from publicly available information, which concerns ethics experts.

On October 13 2017 07:00 Nevuk wrote:

I don't actually think the kneeling is in regard to any of those things. They were started before Trump was a serious candidate.

On October 13 2017 07:15 Dangermousecatdog wrote:
Did RiK just say Trump has leadership skills? That rotating door of a white house and an administration that can't be bothered to fill empty positions?

On October 13 2017 07:00 Nevuk wrote:

I don't actually think the kneeling is in regard to any of those things. They were started before Trump was a serious candidate.

On October 13 2017 06:56 NewSunshine wrote:

You're 1 for 3, at most. Better than usual. You might do better with fewer reductive assumptions.

On October 13 2017 07:24 Dangermousecatdog wrote:
That's not leadership Rik. That's like saying Hitler has good leadership skills. The most amazing leaderships ever seen. Those rallies were the biggest the world has ever seen. Bigger than Obama's. Not the best comparison, but I can't think of a better example of a person at the moment who can attract energetic rallies but failed dismally at leadership.

On October 13 2017 07:22 RealityIsKing wrote:

Have you seen his rallies?

Its very energetic.

On October 13 2017 07:28 RealityIsKing wrote:


Hitler got a lot of stuff done under his leadership.

I'd say Hitler's leadership > Obama's.

On October 13 2017 07:27 Danglars wrote:

I should've added cop hate for good measure. You better learn that the warm fuzzies you got from peering into the motivations within player's souls does not equate to their outward perception from choosing to do what they did. Your other choice is to remind blind and ignorant over why it backfired so spectacularly and make up your own excuses (usually of the form 'waah football fans and Trump voters are so racist').

On October 13 2017 07:28 RealityIsKing wrote:


Hitler got a lot of stuff done under his leadership.

I'd say Hitler's leadership > Obama's.

On October 13 2017 06:49 Danglars wrote:

Players kneel in opposition of Trump, flag, and country and some people are surprised voters change to view the league unfavorably.

I really wonder who's the sheep in the picture. The tides of the culture war changed for a bit. Better get used to some setbacks Wulfey ... the 2016 election was only Act 1.

On October 13 2017 07:37 FueledUpAndReadyToGo wrote:

I mean Obama's impact wasn't as big as his charisma and he didn't live up to the hype, but unlike Hitler he didn't leave his country with every city burned to rubble and occupied by a spiteful russian army raping the widows of all the men he sent to their deaths.

On October 13 2017 08:00 RealityIsKing wrote:


Well Hitler was strategically retarded.

He was unnecessarily picking fights.

On October 13 2017 07:28 RealityIsKing wrote:


Hitler got a lot of stuff done under his leadership.

I'd say Hitler's leadership > Obama's.

On October 13 2017 08:05 Rebs wrote:


Was he now ? Seems oddly familiar.

On October 13 2017 08:35 RealityIsKing wrote:


Hitler, instead of making deals with the lands he grabbed to give Germany a long term advantage, he overextended.