Donald Trump and Jared Kushner caught up in pandemic loan scandal
Last night it was reported that Donald Trump is considering preemptive pardons for several of his family members, including Jared Kushner. It raises questions about what specific crimes he might be pardoning them for. Then later last night some news broke that might offer some hints.
NBC News is now reporting that the Small Business Administration issued dozens of PPP and EIDL loans to Trump and Kushner properties, totaling millions of dollars. Okay, so their businesses are theoretically entitled to pandemic bailouts just like everyone else. Except NBC has documented that several of these properties retained few or no employees during the pandemic, meaning the money apparently didn’t go to payroll, as required.
In other words, it’s yet another financial fraud scandal for the Trump family. No wonder Donald Trump is considering trying to preemptively pardon the entire family. But keep two things in mind. First, preemptive pardons are flimsy and may not hold up in court. Second, many of these Trump and Kushner properties are in New York – and Trump can’t even try to pardon state charges.
It’s also notable that the Small Business Administration spent months in court trying to block the release of this information about Trump and Kushner, before finally giving up last night. It’s as if these agencies are now more concerned with remaining viable in the post-Trump era than they are about protecting Trump in the meantime.
