President Donald Trump’s campaign adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner owns a real estate firm that received a $285 million loan from Deutsche Bank in October, the Washington Post has revealed.
At the same time, Deutsche Bank was facing a mortgage fraud case in New York and other charges for its alleged links to a Russian money-laundering scheme. That case was promptly settled in December and January.
Kushner signed on as a personal guarantor for the loan, which his firm reportedly wanted to use to refinance property it owns in Manhattan.
These financial dealings, as well as his December meetings with Russian officials, have drawn Kushner into the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia currently being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
The German bank, which also holds Trump as a business client, has been prompted by the House Intelligence Committee to turn over information related to the president’s prior dealings with Russian business associates but has refused to do so.
Kushner, it appears, had also failed to declare the loan on his financial disclosure form to the Office of Government Ethics when he assumed office under the administration. However, a lawyer for Kushner told the Post that “filers do not have to disclose as a liability a loan on which they have made a guarantee unless they have a present obligation to repay the loan.”
Obligations aside, the latest revelation continues to point toward a complex web of convoluted interests as Kushner balances his newfound political standing with managing his property business.
