Jared Kushner Conflict In Spotlight Over Trump’s Cash-For-Visas Loophole

Jared Kushner Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman May 9, 2017

The blunt Chinese sales pitch by Jared Kushner’s sister Nicole Meyer brought a barrage of bad press to the Kushner-Trump family. It also raised, once again, questions about the potential conflicts of interest Kushner faces as a top aide to the president who is also a real estate businessman.

In her pitch, Meyer and representatives of the Kushner family offered a path for an EB-5 immigration visa to the U.S. in return for a $500,000 investment in the a new complex the company is building in Jersey City. EB-5 visas were designed for foreign investors but have come under fire for cases of abuse and money laundering.

Kushner, in response, made clear he intends to recuse himself from any further dealings with the EB-5 program in the Trump administration.

But critics have noted that his broad White House portfolio includes all dealings with China and could pose further conflicts of interest in the future. Democracy 21, an ethics watchdog group, called on Kushner to recuse himself from all issues relating to China.

The Kushner companies have already received $50 million in investments based on EB-5 visas, most of them from China.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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