Senate Votes to Confirm Charles Kushner as Ambassador to France
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Charles Kushner, a convicted felon, as the new U.S. Ambassador to France and Monaco, with all but one Republican senator supporting the decision.
Charles Kushner, the father-in-law of former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was nominated for the role by Trump late last year. Trump praised Kushner as a “tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker” in a social media post, expressing confidence in his ability to represent U.S. interests abroad.
Kushner co-founded Kushner Companies LLC, a real estate firm in the tri-state area, utilizing a portfolio he inherited from his father. However, his career faced a major setback in 2004 when federal authorities uncovered illegal activities involving tax evasion and campaign finance violations. In an attempt to obstruct the investigation, Kushner hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, William Schulder, capturing the encounter on video for blackmail purposes.
In 2005, Kushner pleaded guilty to 18 counts, including witness tampering, leading to a two-year prison sentence. The prosecution was led by then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who later became New Jersey’s governor and a presidential candidate.
Christie has openly discussed the case, stating in a PBS interview, “If a guy hires a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, and video tapes it, and then sends the video tape to his sister to attempt to intimidate her from testifying before a grand jury, do I really need any more justification than that? It’s one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted.”
Upon taking office, Trump issued a full pardon to Kushner in December 2020. Despite the controversial past, the Senate largely backed Kushner’s nomination, with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski as the only Republican dissenting. On the Democratic side, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was the sole supporter.
Requests for comments from the White House spokesperson remain unanswered.
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