The son Trump never had
by digby
No, not Ivanka. And yes, Trump does have three sons of his own. But it's his son-in-law who's the fair-haired boy:
Before Kushner joined Trump’s family, he learned the role of loyalty from his own.
Kushner’s father, Charles, is the son of Holocaust survivors and the architect of a real estate empire in New Jersey. He donated generously to schools, charities and Democratic politicians, but his finances caught the attention of federal authorities, led by the then-U.S. Atty. Chris Christie, who investigated him for tax evasion and improper campaign contributions.
The investigation took an ugly turn as the elder Kushner’s brother and sister cooperated with authorities, and he sought revenge in a sordid sting operation. He hired a prostitute to seduce his sister’s husband, videotaped the sexual encounter in a motel room, and mailed the recording to his sister.
The scheme backfired, becoming one more piece of the federal case against him. He eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison.
The case tore apart the family but did not shake Jared Kushner’s devotion to his father.
“I felt what happened was obviously unjust in terms of the way [prosecutors] pursued him,” he told the Real Deal, a real estate website, in 2014.
You'll notice that Chris Christie is no longer part of the transition and nobody's mentioned him for anything recently. It seems Kushner shares his father in law's thirst for revenge. (This profile in Esquire shows just how "populist" Trump and his entourage really are... Let's just say that Kushner's circle is a who's who of plutocrats.)
In any case, my point in bringing him up is to say that it's not going to be enough for Trump to pretend to "divest" or put his family's holdings in a phony blind trust. Kushner's conflicts are almost as disqualifying. And he's married to Ivanka, Trump's choice to run his own company.
This mess is just so complex. There is no fixing it. It was something the Republicans should have brought up way back in the beginning and pushed to keep him from running unless he liquidated. (The Democrats couldn't do it because it would have been "partisan" he said/ she said.) And the press should have pushed harder on this than the alleged Clinton conflicts which were completely transparent and open for audit. But they didn't.
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