Trump appoints Charles Kushner, father of his son-in-law, as envoy to France

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President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday nominated Charles Kushner, father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as US ambassador to France, in the latest of several controversial choices.

Kushner “is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist and dealmaker who will be a strong advocate for our country and its interests,” Trump said on his Truth Social website, adding that Jared “worked closely with me in the White House.”

The choice is consistent with Trump’s past pattern of selecting people, often wealthy, who are close to his family or have proven loyalty. Kushner is a multimillionaire real estate agent and former attorney; his son was a senior adviser in Trump’s first term.

However, Trump did not mention that the elder Kushner once served prison time — a two-year sentence, most of it served in a federal prison.

Kushner, now 70, pleaded guilty in 2004 to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.

The case, which was prosecuted by then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, contained troubling details that Kushner admitted: that he had hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, a man who cooperated in a campaign finance investigation, and then videotaped the proceedings. meeting and sent it to the man’s wife, Kushner’s sister, to dissuade her from testifying against him.

Christie, who worked on Trump’s first presidential transition team and then opposed him in this year’s Republican primary contests, later said Kushner had committed a “heinous” and “heinous crime.”

In 2020, Trump issued a pardon to Kushner, whose conviction had resulted in him being barred in three states.

Nominees for key ambassadorships are often business associates of a president-elect or major political donors. But naming a convicted felon is rare, if not unprecedented.

The first two men to fill the prestigious Paris post were the famous inventor and statesman Benjamin Franklin and a future president, Thomas Jefferson.

If confirmed, Kushner would succeed Denise Bauer, a former ambassador to Belgium who was a major Democratic fundraiser and donor.

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