White House attorneys are assessing whether White House senior adviser and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, ran afoul of federal ethics regulations by meeting with executives from two companies that loaned millions of dollars to his family’s business, The Hill reported Monday.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) had previously raised concerns to the Office of Government Ethics following reports that Kushner met with executives from Apollo Global Management and Citigroup shortly before each company loaned the Kushner Cos. millions of dollars.
Apollo loaned $184 million to the Kushner Cos., while Citigroup loaned $325 million to the business, which is run by Kushner’s family.
David Apol, acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, said in a letter obtained by The Wall Street Journal that he spoke with the White House Counsel’s Office about Krishnamoorthi’s concerns.
“I have discussed this matter with the White House Counsel’s Office in order to ensure that they have begun the process of ascertaining the facts necessary to determine whether any law or regulation has been violated and whether any additional procedures are necessary to avoid violations in the future,” Apol wrote.
“During that discussion, the White House informed me that they had already begun this process. I have asked the White House to inform me of the results of that process,” he added.
An Apollo spokesman previously said the executive who met with Kushner was not involved in the decision to loan Kushner Cos. money.
A spokeswoman for Kushner Cos. told the newspaper 0that they hadn't received an inquiry from the White House Counsel's Office.
Kushner last month had his security clearance downgraded from "top secret" to "secret." There were also reports that four countries, among them Israel, had privately discussed ways they can manipulate Kushner by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements. It was unclear, however, if any of those countries acted on the discussions.
Another report claimed that Trump quietly asked White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to encourage Kushner and the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump to leave their White House positions.
Trump, however, has publicly praised Kushner, saying he's "done an outstanding job."