Trump appoints son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father as ambassador to France

Donald Trump has appointed Charles Kushner, his son-in-law’s father, to be the US ambassador to France.

The president-elect, 78, pardoned Kushner, who in 2006 served a prison sentence for tax evasion, witness tampering and making illegal campaign donations, at the end of his first administration.

Charles Kushner has been appointed the next US ambassador to France.Credit: AP

Chris Christie, a former New Jersey governor, described Kushner’s case as “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he ever prosecuted as a US attorney.

Announcing Kushner’s appointment, Trump said the property developer, 70, was a “tremendous business leader, philanthropist and dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our country and its interests”.

He referenced Kushner’s son, Jared, Trump’s former White House adviser, but did not mention that he is married to his daughter Ivanka.

“Congratulations to Charlie, his wonderful wife Seryl, their four children, and 14 grandchildren,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Jared Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump at the Republican National Convention in July.Credit: nna\BGossling

He added: “His son, Jared, worked closely with me in the White House, in particular on Operation Warp Speed, Criminal Justice Reform and the Abraham Accords.

“Together, we will strengthen America’s partnership with France, our oldest ally, and one of our greatest!”

The appointment underscores Trump’s commitment to filling his administration with loyalists and close allies.

Trump pardoned Charles Kushner as part of an eleventh-hour clemency spree during the final days of his first presidency, when the White House cited Kushner’s charitable work since he completed his 2006 prison sentence.

Kushner pleaded guilty to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a federal witness and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission in 2005.

He was sentenced to 24 months in prison.

Part of the case involved the real estate developer hiring a sex worker to seduce his brother-in-law, William Schulder, who was co-operating with a federal investigation against him. Kushner filmed the encounter and sent the footage to Schulder’s wife, Esther (Kushner’s sister). The Schulders took the videotape to the prosecutors who tracked down the woman.

In 2019, Christie called Kushner’s case “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he had ever prosecuted. Christie ran in the Republican primaries in the 2016 and 2024 presidential races.

Jared Kushner, 43, previously described the deep impact his father’s imprisonment had on him.

He was in his early 20s and a law and business school student in the mid-2000s when his father was sentenced and suddenly found himself having to run the family’s businesses while shuttling back and forth on weekends to see his father in jail in Alabama.

“When you’re on the other side of the system, you feel so helpless,” Jared Kushner said in 2018. “I felt like I was on this side of the system, so how can I try to do whatever I can do to try to be helpful to the people who are going through it and deserve a second chance.”

The Telegraph, London

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