I haven’t seen Jared Soninlaw Kushner in action before. It’s not an edifying spectacle.

Jared Kushner deflects when asked if he disapproves of Donald Trump's promotion of birtherism, saying he wasn't involved with it. @dctvny @hbodocs pic.twitter.com/D2wINVHLIx

— Axios (@axios) June 2, 2019

Have you seen Trump do or say anything racist, Mister Soninlaw?

Absolutely not. You can’t not be a racist for 69 years n then run for president and be a racist –

Let me stop you right there, Mister Soninlaw. Trump was not not a racist for 69 years. He very much was a racist during that time frame. He was raised racist by a racist landlord father who excluded black people from his rental properties. He … Read the rest

The Times on Prince Jared’s awesome scam to avoid paying federal income tax:

Over the past decade, Jared Kushner’s family company has spent billions of dollars buying real estate. His personal stock investments have soared. His net worth has quintupled to almost $324 million.

And yet, for several years running, Mr. Kushner — President Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser — appears to have paid almost no federal income taxes, according to confidential financial documents reviewed by The New York Times.

How? Via deduction for “depreciation.”

But the losses were only on paper — Mr. Kushner and his company did not appear to actually lose any money. The losses were driven by depreciation, a tax benefit that

Don told Jared to fix up that whole Middle East peace thing, so Jared went to visit the Saudi “crown prince” aka hereditary future dictator Mohammed bin Salman aka MBS. You’ll never guess what he did when he got there.

When Kushner, Trump’s senior aide, made an unannounced trip to Riyadh last year, the Intercept — citing three sources — reported Wednesday, MBS told confidants after the meeting that Kushner had discussed Saudi leaders who are disloyal to the crown prince.

One person “who talks frequently to confidants of the Saudi and Emirati rulers” told the Intercept that MBS bragged to United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed that Kushner was “in his pocket.”

The Intercept also reported

The Kushner Company is in the spotlight.

The New York City Council and a local tenants rights group announced on Monday that they would launch a joint investigation into the real estate company formerly headed by Jared Kushner, a top aide to President Donald Trump, over alleged falsification of building permits.

The group and a city councilman said at a press conference that they had uncovered evidence that Kushner Companies, the developer headed by Kushner until early last year, had falsified more than 80 work permits involving 34 buildings in New York.

…

Aaron Carr, executive director of Housing Rights Initiative, said the company failed to disclose the existence of rent-stabilized units in buildings, a move that allowed it

Kushner sleaze unveiled:

When the Kushner Cos. bought three apartment buildings in a gentrifying neighborhood of Queens in 2015, most of the tenants were protected by special rules that prevent developers from pushing them out, raising rents and turning a tidy profit.

But that’s exactly what the company then run by Jared Kushner did, and with remarkable speed. Two years later, it sold all three buildings for $60 million, nearly 50 percent more than it paid.

Now a clue has emerged as to how President Donald Trump’s son-in-law’s firm was able to move so fast: The Kushner Cos. routinely filed false paperwork with the city declaring it had zero rent-regulated tenants in dozens of buildings it owned across the

Another tightening of the noose:

Federal investigators are scrutinizing whether any of Jared Kushner’s business discussions with foreigners during the presidential transition later shaped White House policies in ways designed to either benefit or retaliate against those he spoke with, according to witnesses and other people familiar with the investigation.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has asked witnesses about Kushner’s efforts to secure financing for his family’s real estate properties, focusing specifically on his discussions during the transition with individuals from Qatar and Turkey, as well as Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates, according to witnesses who have been interviewed as part of the investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign to sway the 2016

The Times dropped this one late yesterday: Kushner’s Business Got Loans After White House Meetings.

Oh come ON, one wants to say. That obvious? That unabashed? That unsubtle? Just – hi guys, loan my company some money and I’ll make it worth your while?

Early last year, a private equity billionaire started paying regular visits to the White House.

Joshua Harris, a founder of Apollo Global Management, was advising Trump administration officials on infrastructure policy. During that period, he met on multiple occasions with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, said three people familiar with the meetings. Among other things, the two men discussed a possible White House job for Mr. Harris.

The job never materialized, but

Jennifer Rubin says Kushner should be anxious at the fact that Trump isn’t shielding him.

It was never clear why Kushner reportedly requested more access to intelligence materials than any other White House official outside the National Security Council, but whatever the reason, the power that comes with access to information has now been sharply curtailed. (“Friday’s downgrade represents a significant loss of access for Kushner, who routinely attended classified briefings, received access to the President’s Daily Brief intelligence report and issue[d] requests for information to the intelligence community.”) The move also raises questions as to why Kushner wasn’t granted a permanent clearance (Was it Russia? His ongoing financial woes? Omissions on his request for a top-secret clearance?).

The fact … Read the rest

Just in case Kushner’s day wasn’t already bad enough yesterday…there was the little matter of violating the Hatch Act. CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, issued a press release.

Presidential adviser Jared Kushner appears to have violated the Hatch Act, according to a complaint filed today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) with the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC).

Kushner likely violated the Hatch Act in a press release sent out by the Trump presidential campaign this morning. Kushner gave a quote about the the president’s reelection campaign and is identified as “Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President, and President Trump’s son-in-law.” The Hatch Act prohibits the use of official

Well exactly; of course they have.

Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties, and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.

Naturally; why wouldn’t they? This is one reason it’s such a baaaaaaaaad idea to put an ignorant property-haver like Jared Kushner in charge of foreign affairs simply because he’s married to Daddy’s princess. He’s corrupt, he’s having trouble making payments, he knows absolutely nothing about foreign policy – of course people are talking about manipulating him.

Among those nations discussing ways to