Donald Trump has selected his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, to serve as the next US ambassador to France, the president-elect announced Saturday.
Trump described Charles Kushner as a highly successful business leader, philanthropist and dealmaker, with deep experience in the real estate industry.
“I am pleased to nominate Charles Kushner, of New Jersey, to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to France. He is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The president-elect also noted the connection to Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka. “His son, Jared, worked closely with me in the White House, in particular on Operation Warp Speed, Criminal Justice Reform, & the Abraham Accords,” Trump wrote in his post.
Charles Kushner was pardoned by Trump in 2020 following a 2005 conviction on federal charges. Chris Christie, who led the case as the US attorney for New Jersey, said in 2019 that Kushner committed “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he had prosecuted.
Kushner, who was under investigation at the time for making illegal campaign contributions, targeted his brother-in-law, William Schulder, a former employee turned witness for federal prosecutors in their case against the Democratic donor. As part of the plot, Kushner hired a prostitute to lure Schulder into having sex in a motel as a hidden camera rolled. A tape of the encounter was then sent to Kushner’s sister and Schulder’s wife. Ultimately, the intimidation stunt failed, and the woman turned on Kushner.
Kushner pleaded guilty in 2005 to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a federal witness and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
Trump’s announcement comes as Jared Kushner has said he doesn’t plan on serving in the president-elect’s second administration. Kushner said at an event in Miami in February that he’s been “very clear” in his desire to focus on his private equity firm “at this phase” in his life.
Kushner, however, is seen as being pivotal to the incoming administration’s Middle East efforts, even though he is not likely to take a formal job within it, regional diplomats and Trump allies told CNN earlier this month.
Since Trump left office in 2021, Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have moved to Miami and largely exited politics. Kushner founded an investment fund, Affinity Partners, shortly after leaving Washington with major backing from sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf.
During Trump’s first tenure, Kushner’s fingerprints were on many, if not all, of the administration’s agenda items, including immigration, relations with China, the Middle East and the White House’s coronavirus response.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Gregory Krieg, Kevin Liptak, Kylie Atwood and Ali Main contributed to this report.
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