Who Is Charles Kushner? Trump Nominates Ivanka’s Father-In-Law As France Ambassador

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday his intent to nominate Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the U.S. ambassador to France. Trump called Charles Kushner a “tremendous business leader, philanthropist & dealmaker” who would be a “strong advocate” for American interests in France in a post on Truth Social.

Kushner is a well-known businessman and the founder of the real estate firm Kushner Companies. Jared Kushner, his son, was one of Trump’s top advisors while he was president. The Kushner and Trump families are intimately related as a result of Jared’s marriage to Ivanka Trump, the president-elect’s eldest daughter.

A Controversial Past

Charles Kushner has a contentious past. He was found guilty on 18 charges in 2005, including witness tampering and tax evasion. An attempt to intimidate his brother-in-law, who had assisted federal investigators in a corruption probe, was the basis for the case against Kushner. In order to discreetly videotape the meeting and send it to his sister, the man’s wife, Kushner had a prostitute entice his brother-in-law to a hotel room in New Jersey.

Kushner received the maximum term permitted by his plea agreement, two years in jail. But it was a far lesser punishment than U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who led the prosecution, had requested. Christie subsequently said that Jared Kushner was involved in his termination from Trump’s 2016 transition team.

In December 2020, Trump granted Charles Kushner a pardon, praising his charitable work and financial acumen. Given Kushner’s criminal history, some have questioned whether the pardon was appropriate, and the decision has been controversial.