After multiple instances in which Jared Kusher’s family attempted to trade on his role in the Trump White House to sell United State visas and a failed multibillion-dollar deal to bring a Chinese company in to save Kushner’s 666 Fifth Avenue disaster comes word Kushner was warned that one of his friends was using him as a tool for the Chinese government.
U.S. counterintelligence officials in early 2017 warned Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, that Wendi Deng Murdoch, a prominent Chinese-American businesswoman, could be using her close friendship with Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to further the interests of the Chinese government, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kushner’s pal was promoting a project that installed a 70-foot tall tower on high ground overlooking the heart of Washington, D.C. It doesn’t seem that Kushner was concerned by the briefing. But then, Kushner is just a bit desperate.
Jared Kushner’s $7.5 billion plan to transform a Manhattan skyscraper into a mix of high-end residences and retail has been deemed “not feasible” by the project’s partner, putting the future of the property — saddled with $1.2 billion in debt — in doubt.
The 666 Fifth Avenue purchase is one of the greatest white elephants in real estate history. Unable to unload the property, Kushner has been beating the world’s bushes in an increasingly hopeless search for funds.
It’s just the kind of pressure that makes Kushner an excellent target for anyone who needs an in with Trump.
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Jared Kushner is the man who was going to do everything—but has done nothing. Nothing, that is, except hang out with a Saudi prince and give tacit approval to a brutal consolidation of power. The opioid crisis? It seems Kushner hasn’t had a chance to look into that. Remaking the federal government? Thankfully unconsidered. Middle East peace? He doesn’t have to worry about that one so much, since Trump has decided that people who aren’t nice to him don’t deserve to live.
But it’s hard to worry about getting things done when you’re facing a kind of personal Armageddon.
Bloomberg sources say that Vornado chairman and CEO Steve Roth is now signaling investors to prepare for more modest renovations than expected. Depending on how plans are refinanced and renegotiated, the Kushner Co. could lose control of the building.
Or, putting that a little less gently ...
Jared Kushner’s family is screwed, and it’s all boy wonder’s fault …
In fact, Roth, who has said 666 Fifth “would be worth a lot more if it was just dirt,” is reportedly so disenchanted that he’s sending a message to anyone who might still be interested in the Kushners’ plan to “back off.”
Both during the campaign and after, Kushner has attempted to trade off his connection with Trump. But the increased attention has already generated some increased scrutiny, and what most investors have concluded is that Kushner is about as smart as Trump. Those few business people still talking to Kushner operate by dangling the possibility of some last-minute salvation for the family corporation that he lit on fire, in exchange for some tidbit of favor from Kushner’s money-laundering mentor.
And if you reach out often enough, it’s not surprising that you make a few connections.
Frank Figliuzzi — former Assistant Director for Counterintelligence at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — said on Sunday that he thinks President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner potentially faces criminal charges completely separate from those having to do with Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
And maybe some charges that are also not completely separate.
Oh, in case the name Wendi Deng Murdoch seemed familiar:
Ms. Murdoch in 1999 married Rupert Murdoch, who is the executive chairman of News Corp, which publishes The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Murdoch filed for divorce in 2013. Ms. Murdoch still uses her married name.
Deng had just turned 30 at the time of the marriage. Murdoch was 67. Not every deal is about real estate. They were divorced in 2013.
Since then, rumors have linked Deng Murdoch romantically with several high-profile figures and world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
What’s that you say? Large surveillance tower in the midst of the nation’s capital? Sure thing.
