The Kushner Companies’ presentation to potential investors in China has come under heavy criticism.
A former White House ethics adviser says that a sales pitch by Jared Kushner’s sister to potential Chinese investors that was centered on a controversial visa program came « very, very close to solicitation of a bribe. »
« This is corruption, pure and simple, » said Richard Painter, who was an attorney for President George W. Bush and is now a University of Minnesota law professor.
The latest conflict-of-interest uproar to roil President Donald Trump’s administration arose this weekend as the Kushner Companies invited wealthy foreigners to sink cash into a New Jersey real estate project via the EB-5 program.
Addressing the crowds in Beijing and Shanghai at an event hosted by a Chinese immigration firm was Nicole Meyer, sister of Kushner, who is one of Trump’s most trusted confidants and his son-in-law.
She name-checked Kushner, according to reporters from the Washington Post and the New York Times who attended. Trump’s photo also was included in a slideshow that described him as a key decision-maker on the fate of the EB-5 program, but Kushner Companies said that was the work of the Chinese organizer.
The so-called « golden visa » program gives foreigners who invest at least $500,000 in U. S. development projects a faster track to pursue green cards for themselves and their families.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday that Kushner, who has divested from his family firm, had « nothing to do » with the investor recruitment, and Meyer said through a spokesperson that she was sorry if anyone misinterpreted her mention of her brother.
