The Golden Couple (Ivanka and Jared)

[fraurosena]

3 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

I just don't get this whole being in dept thing and living the way they do. How can somebody in dept own planes, own homes worth millions of dollars, send their kids to private schools where the tuition  is on par with some colleges. Rufus all mighty, Daddy's little snowflake and Kushner live in Kalorama! 

I've never been seriously in dept, but I've come close. Bill collectors calling, threatening letters. I sure as hell wan't spending a years salary on one fucking dress.  I've known people who had to pretty much sell all they had and live on the mercy of friends on the sombody elses couch. So many are just one or two missed paychecks, or huge doctor bill away from real bankruptcy.

So I don't get how Trump and his nasty spawn (Barron not included), can get away with it. 

I'm not sure of all the ins and outs of it, but I'm convinced they get away with it by very nefarious means. Money laundering for Russians oligarchs being just one. 

[GrumpyGran]

On 8/2/2017 at 3:41 PM, GreyhoundFan said:

 

Just as a clarification, I did not mean Jared holds Ivanka's purse strings. I meant it more as a "Jared, hold my purse while I go out there and let Daddy grope me and wave to the adoring crowd."

"Whatever you say, Meal Ticket"

And FJ is doing that weird thing where there's a bunch of stuff here. Got rid of most of it but can't get rid of @GreyhoundFan quote box.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Kushner’s White House role ‘crushed’ efforts to woo investors for NYC tower"

Spoiler

Jared Kushner and his family company seemed close to striking a deal in 2016 to transform their aging, money-losing 41-story Manhattan office tower into a new and profitable Fifth Avenue skyscraper twice as tall.

A team led by Kushner and his father, Charles, courted global investors and prospective tenants.

Then Donald Trump became president and Kushner became his father-in-law’s senior White House adviser. Problems ensued.

Kushner met in December with a Russian banker, leading to questions about whether he was mixing his role in the coming Trump administration with his business. A Chinese insurance fund and a former Qatari foreign minister backed away from a potential $900 million investment in the skyscraper. Another foreign funding stream was disrupted when Kushner Cos. came under federal scrutiny for its use of a controversial federal visas-for-investment program at another project.

Today, 666 Fifth Avenue appears to be the most troubled of the projects Kushner left behind for his family to manage. With one-fourth of its offices empty, lease revenue does not cover monthly interest payments, according to lending documents. A $1.2 billion mortgage, with escalating interest rates, comes due in 18 months. A ratings agency has classified a $115 million portion of the loan as “troubled,” and company officials decline to say whether it will be fully repaid.

“They were crushed by this,” said Thomas Barrack, a friend of Trump and Kushner’s and former project investor. Kushner’s move to the White House “just about completely chilled the market, and [potential investors] just said, ‘No way — can’t be associated with any appearances of conflict of interest,’ even though there was none.”

Laurent Morali, who became president of Kushner Cos. last year, said in an interview that he is marketing a 60-year-old aluminum-clad building “that is not competitive” with more-modern properties. He said the company will decide soon whether to proceed with its ambitious redevelopment plan or scale back.

Morali said the company is current on its loans. The company says it has a strong national portfolio of properties, including 20,000 residential apartments and 13 million square feet of commercial space.

“This is one asset owned by Kushner [Companies], Morali said, describing 666 Fifth Avenue. “It is a small fraction of our assets.”

Kushner divested his stake in the property in January, selling it for an undisclosed amount to a trust controlled by his sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer.

Kushner declined to be interviewed. White House spokesman Josh Raffel said in a statement that in the lead-up to the election, Kushner focused on winding down his real estate work.

“Throughout the campaign, Jared gradually reduced his day-to-day-role in Kushner Companies,” Raffel said. “Starting several weeks before the election until he fully resigned, his focus at the company was on transitioning over his responsibilities and relationships.”

The Manhattan skyscraper is not the only Kushner project to draw attention since the election. The company has acknowledged that federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York have subpoenaed documents about use of the EB-5 visa program at One Journal Square, a planned Jersey City development. Meyer touted her brother’s White House position in courting Chinese investors under the program, which offers temporary visas in exchange for $500,000 investments.

Meyer later apologized, but the Jersey City project lost a state tax break and is parting ways with co-working start-up WeWork.

The family’s network of federally subsidized apartments has come under fire from congressional Democrats over the company’s hard-nosed pursuit of delinquent renters.

In his White House role, Kushner appeared before Senate committees to explain meetings with foreign officials that he said he inadvertently omitted from his security clearance questionnaire. And special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating whether Russia colluded with the Trump campaign, is examining Kushner’s dealings, The Washington Post has reported.

As investigations proceed, pressures at 666 Fifth Avenue are building. The problems trace back to a brash decision Kushner, then 26 and a Manhattan real estate novice, made a decade ago.

... < good graphic about Kushner's "deal" >

Manhattan commercial real estate was booming when Kushner bought 666 Fifth Avenue in 2007 for $1.8 billion — the highest price paid at that time for an office tower in the United States. Experts speculated that Kushner had vastly overpaid.

Kushner had taken over the company because his father, Charles, had just served time in federal prison for tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and witness tampering. Eager to re-brand their company, the Kushners had sold much of their New Jersey real estate holdings to make the Manhattan gamble.

To back up a colossal loan package, the Kushners had a $2 billion appraisal, based largely on the premier retail space fronting Fifth Avenue, but months after buying the building, the Great Recession pummeled values.

By 2010, Kushner risked losing the building. He was delinquent on payments, according to a report by Trepp, which analyzes real estate transactions, and he entered debt restructuring negotiations. He sold the retail portion at a profit, which helped cover the Kushner family’s investment, but the office portion was hemorrhaging, according to losses outlined in lending documents.

Kushner was under extraordinary pressure from other investors. Kushner, who had married Ivanka Trump in 2009, turned to two friends of his father-in-law for help.

Barrack, who ran a California investment company called Colony Capital, had met Donald Trump in the 1980s when he negotiated on behalf of a client for the sale of the Plaza Hotel.

In 2010, Barrack’s company acquired part of the distressed debt on 666 Fifth Avenue. He invested $45 million and eventually made a profit, he said.

In 2011, Trump called Barrack to arrange a meeting for Kushner. As Barrack recalled it, “Donald called and said: ‘Look, I have no idea what’s going on. Jared has some deal you have an interest in.’ ”

Kushner flew to California and told Barrack about his plan to salvage the project. He came alone, without lawyers, and Barrack was impressed. Kushner told him that investors should accept a restructuring plan to keep the project afloat — even though some of them would get less than they expected from their investment.

After 75 minutes, Barrack agreed to help, concluding that “it seems like it is in everyone’s interest to restructure this.” He said he called Trump and told him: “You should get down on your knees that your daughter found this kid. He is out of central casting. He was respectful, he was totally up to date on the facts and the numbers and had a very persuasive demeanor.”

Kushner also turned to Steve Roth, Trump’s partner in another Manhattan office building. Roth’s company is Vornado Realty Trust. Its ties to Trump attracted attention recently when it bid on a new FBI headquarters building, a project the administration later canceled. Roth declined to comment for this article.

In 2011, Roth’s company bought 49.5 percent of the office portion of 666 Fifth Avenue, enabling Kushner to restructure the debt and extend the $1.2 billion loan to 2019, according to lending documents. Vornado announced in late 2012 that it paid $707 million for the retail portion.

Other investors were not as lucky. Area Property Partners held $105.4 million of Kushner’s debt, according to lending documents, and objected to the restructuring terms. The Post reported in May how Kushner, as owner of the New York Observer media outlet, urged reporters to pursue a negative tip about Area Property’s chief executive. The Observer reporters said the tip was unfounded and no story was published. Area declined to comment. Kushner has declined to comment when asked about the Observer matter.

At the time, Kushner was optimistic about 666 Fifth Avenue and his ability to attract new tenants.

Since then, the occupancy rate has plummeted to 70 percent, far short of expectations, according to lending documents. Citibank, a primary tenant when Kushner bought the building, has vacated the property except for a small retail space. Phillips Nizer, a law firm that has been a tenant for 22 years and occupies two floors of the building, is leaving at the end of this year, according to managing partner Marc Landis.

Revenue has declined. When Kushner Cos. took over the property in 2007, the net operating income was $61 million. That dropped to $41 million in 2016 because of the sale of the retail portion and declining office occupancy, according to Trepp.

Morali said that the building struggles to compete in a soft commercial market in which office leases have shifted to trendier Manhattan spaces such as Hudson Yards.

The strain on the Kushners is hard to quantify. The company is privately held, and it declined to provide an independent financial report.

The company has taken steps to bolster its finances. In 2016, just before Trump’s election, it refinanced its portion of the former New York Times building, including a $285 million loan from Deutsche Bank, giving it $74 million more than Kushner had paid a year earlier, according to securities filings. The company declined to specify how the $74 million has been used.

The company’s biggest challenge was finding a way to turn 666 Fifth Avenue into a moneymaker before the debt came due.

The plan for turning 666 Fifth Avenue into an 80-story office tower was distributed to prospective investors and greeted with skepticism when it became publicly known last year. The Real Deal, a New York real estate publication, described it as a “tower of hubris” for the Kushners.

The plan called for vacating the building and constructing the taller tower, including hotel rooms and luxury housing, under a design by famed architect Zaha Hadid, who died last year. Much of the proposal is conceptual, but a rendering showed a structure with a squat base with top-flight retail and a tall, thin tower for luxury residences. While financing details have not been disclosed, a key component of the plan would be to have new investors foot much of the bill, enabling the Kushner Cos. debt to be retired or renegotiated and giving the company a stake in the new property.

Kushner Cos. valued the renovation at $7.5 billion. A number of New York City’s biggest real estate firms that preferred quick returns declined to get involved, according to New York real estate executives and analysts. The plan relied partly on raising money from foreign investors through the EB-5 program. The company has said that applying for such funds was allowed under the rules.

Kushner and his company also recruited deep-pocketed global investors who might see the building as a way to make a distinctive mark in Manhattan. But the effort posed ethical questions as Kushner moved into his role with Trump. In 2016, Kushner simultaneously helped run Trump’s presidential campaign and served as president of a company seeking billions of dollars from foreign entities.

... < continuation of earlier graphic >

One deal that came close to fruition was with Anbang, a company closely affiliated with the Chinese government that considered investing $400 million, according to Bloomberg News. Anbang had just bought the landmark Waldorf Astoria hotel when Kushner met with its representatives there a week after the election, according to the New York Times. Anbang later issued a statement saying that “there is no investment” and declined to comment further.

Another potential investor was a fund run by the former prime minister of Qatar, Hamad Bin Jasim al-Thani, one of the world’s wealthiest men, who would have lent $500 million, according to the Intercept. Hamad did not respond to a request for comment. Kushner Cos. has confirmed the China and Qatar efforts. Neither effort succeeded.

Concerns about Kushner’s business dealings intensified when it was disclosed earlier this year that he met in December with the top executive of the Russian bank Vnesheconombank, or VEB. The bank has said that the executive, Sergey Gorkov, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussed “promising business lines and sectors” with Kushner. VEB is Russia’s economic development bank and is considered an arm of the Kremlin.

Kushner assured Congress in a July 24 statement that the meeting did not involve “any discussion about my companies, business transactions, real estate projects, loans, banking arrangements or any private business of any kind.” Democrats have demanded an investigation.

Kushner’s family company said that as of January it had not sought investments from entities connected to foreign governments, although that does not rule out taking money from wealthy foreigners who also have business before the U.S. government. A person close to the company said that company officials continue to meet with potential investors from the United States and other countries.

Morali said that excluding foreign government funds will not preclude him from finding investors. “We happen to be at a point where we’ve explored a lot of different options and I’m pleased with the progress we’ve made on them,” he said, “so I can anticipate that over the next couple of months the partnership is going to make a decision.”

Nonetheless, steering clear of foreign government funds could narrow his options.

Of the 10 priciest office-building purchases last year in Manhattan, two were made by a sovereign wealth fund in China (China Investment Corp.) and a third was by the central bank of Hong Kong. Three of the other purchases came from private entities in Saudi Arabia, Canada and Spain, sometimes investing public money.

New York real estate consultant Arthur J. Mirante II, who advised the Kushner family on the original deal, said 666 Fifth Avenue could probably be re-leased as an office building with modest investment. Redevelopment is more difficult, he said.

“If they have to forget about that market because of Jared being in the White House, they’re going to have to look elsewhere,” Mirante said.

Meanwhile, the interest rate on the Kushner company’s principal loan rose to 5.5 percent from 5 percent this year and will continue to rise to a maximum of 6.3 percent, according to Trepp. The loan is held by a group of investment banks and investors led by General Electric and Wells Fargo.

That, in turn, has created an opportunity for Kushner’s partner, Roth’s Vornado. Unlike Kushner Cos., Vornado’s central business is leasing New York office buildings. Some analysts expect Roth to wait out the Kushner redevelopment plan and, if it fails, try to take over the property — despite what Roth has said publicly.

Earlier this year, Roth told shareholders that 666 Fifth Avenue “is an ongoing, complex, dynamic and unpredictable situation . . . and it is the rare case when we may be sellers.”

Barrack said that when Kushner went to the White House, his father, Charles — who had helped devise the redevelopment proposal — must have known that his efforts would be undermined. Charles Kushner did not respond to a request for comment.

“This was [Charles’s] dream and his baby,” Barrack said. “When Jared decided to go to Washington, he probably had a heart attack.”

As a result of the Kushner focus, Barrack said, investors have to ask themselves, “Are they willing to take the scrutiny of what comes along with” investing with Kushner Cos.?

It's really amazing that this relatively young guy is playing such a high stakes shell game with other peoples' money. I truly hope that Mueller's investigation ends up with Jared behind bars. Preferably a high-security facility with limited access to the outside world.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Ivanka Trump says people have 'unrealistic expectations' of her White House role"

Spoiler

Many see first daughter Ivanka Trump as a person who can temper President Trump’s strong views and turn his governing decision in a more moderate direction.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, she suggested that is not actually how their relationship—or her position in the White House—works.

"Some people have created unrealistic expectations of what they expect from me," Ivanka said. "That my presence in and of itself would carry so much weight with my father that he would abandon his core values and the agenda that the American people voted for when they elected him. It’s not going to happen."

"To voice dissent publicly would mean I’m not part of the team," she noted in regards to her role in the administration. "That doesn’t mean everyone in the White House has homogeneous views – we don’t, and I think that’s good and healthy – but that doesn’t mean we’re publicly undermining [each other] and this administration."

Many have criticized Ivanka for not being more vocal about her personal views and beliefs, particularly when they appear to run counter to her father’s words and actions.

Among them is Hillary Clinton.

She was asked in a recent interview with Refinery 29, “whether Ivanka Trump should be held responsible [for her father’s actions].”

“Everyone associated with [President Trump]…they’re either on board with that, or they’re not. And if they’re not, they need to be speaking out or leaving," Clinton replied. "But if they remain silent and just give lip service to contrary points of views, then they are part of his agenda and should be judged and held accountable for that.”

Awww, people expected things of her and that's just unrealistic. Oh, please, she needs to go.

[catlady]

So the little princess thinks we were unrealistic in wanting her to be a moderating presence for her unexperienced, clueless, uncouth d-bag of a father?  Ok, Ivanka dear; you proved once again that you're just as disgusting as he is.  Shut up and go back to your Manhattan palace.

[Cartmann99]

 

2 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Some people have created unrealistic expectations of what they expect from me," Ivanka said. "That my presence in and of itself would carry so much weight with my father that he would abandon his core values and the agenda that the American people voted for when they elected him. It’s not going to happen."

"To voice dissent publicly would mean I’m not part of the team," she noted in regards to her role in the administration. "That doesn’t mean everyone in the White House has homogeneous views – we don’t, and I think that’s good and healthy – but that doesn’t mean we’re publicly undermining [each other] and this administration."

*giggles* I'm just here to look pretty and make cow eyes at my daddy. 

[GrumpyGran]

17 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

expectations of what they expect from me,"

How about grammar? From a supposed Ivy League university alumnus?

[GreyhoundFan]

LOL:

[GrumpyGran]

12 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

LOL:

Ok, FFS. does she have dementia, too? This wasn't just something she blurted out, she actually tweeted this and then looked at it and decided it made sense. Yet she thinks she's qualified to speak with world leaders.

Is it mean of me to hope that the baby spit up on her expensive black dress right after this picture was taken? Maybe.

[GreyhoundFan]

Uh-oh: "Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner used a private email account to conduct White House business dozens of times, his lawyer confirms"

Quote

President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has used a private email account to conduct official White House business dozens of times, his lawyer told The Washington Post on Sunday in response to a report that first surfaced in Politico.

Kushner has several times exchanged news stories and minor reactions or updates with other administration officials since joining the White House, using a private email account rather than an official government one. He did so through his first nine months in government service, even as President Trump continued to hammer Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton this summer as reckless for her use of a private email account for government business.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.

Lock him up. Lock him up. Lock him up.

There's more on Politico.

[candygirl200413]

*screams into pillow*

[JMarie]

On 9/14/2017 at 4:24 PM, GreyhoundFan said:

"Some people have created unrealistic expectations of what they expect from me," Ivanka said. "That my presence in and of itself would carry so much weight with my father that he would abandon his core values and the agenda that the American people voted for when they elected him. It’s not going to happen."

Her:  People thought that my daddy would agree with whatever I said, but that's not going to happen

America:  We don't have any expectations of you, because you're NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE WHITE HOUSE!

[GreyhoundFan]

The WaPo has fleshed out the article.  It appears Bannon and Priebus also used private email accounts. Sadly, Bitch and Lyan and the rest of the Repugs won't do a damned thing about it.

[candygirl200413]

So when do we start chanting lock them up? Next fuckface rally? In front of the White House?

[GreyhoundFan]

Such a happy and loving family (not): "Ivanka Trump and Donald Jr. Tried to 'Bump' Tiffany Out of Her Inheritance, According to Newly Released Recordings"

Spoiler

Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were embroiled in a battle to take away inheritance money from their sister, Tiffany Trump, according to a new archive of the conversations Donald Trump had on-air with The Howard Stern Show.

Donald Trump told Howard Stern that Ivanka and Donald Jr. weren’t happy when they discovered they’d have another sibling, and agreed when Stern asked whether the two were working together to “bump off a child.”

“Do your older children get nervous every time you have another child?” Stern asked, referring to the children's inheritance. Every time Donald Trump has another child, the others are at risk of receiving less money. Exactly how much the Trumps will be inheriting is up for debate.

“I have a friend who is also like a very rich guy,” Trump said to Stern, according to the tapes. “And he said how his children hate the new children coming along and everything else; I said, 'Yeah, because every time you have a child, it's 20 percent less to the people [Inaudible].’”

The conversation quickly switched paths to the subject of “making love to Melania during the pregnancy,” but not before serving one last, swift blow to Tiffany Trump.

Stern asked Trump if Donald Jr. and Ivanka were trying to “bump off a child.”

Trump immediately responded with, “Tiffany?”

“Is there any truth to that? [Inaudible] Tiffany?” Stern asked. Trump said he had great children and evaded the question until Stern asked again: “Tell me the truth, though.”

“Yes,” Trump said.

If Tiffany doesn’t lose her inheritance, Donald Trump said she and the rest of the Trumps would receive at least Trump Online University and Trump Ice, according to the tapes. After multiple lawsuits, Trump University is now defunct. Trump Ice, a bottled-water brand with Trump’s face taped across the bottle, is still in business.

Newsweek exclusively obtained this previously unreleased audio and transcript from December 2005 from The Howard Stern Show, along with 15 hours of Trump talking to Stern from 1993 to August 25, 2015. An anonymous person sent the audio file earlier this month of the individual Trump-Stern interviews by Dropbox to the website Factba.se. The site developers requested the Stern-Trump interview audio files on Stern fan sites and Reddit earlier this year. It was made searchable for Newsweek before they were public for the first time on Monday.

Tiffany is the daughter from Trump’s second marriage, to Marla Maples. She grew up with her mother in California.

This isn’t the only time Tiffany has been the odd one out in a family of Trumps. On Election Day, Donald Trump said he was proud of Tiffany “to a lesser extent” than his other children.

“I'm very proud, because Don and Eric and Ivanka and—you know, to a lesser extent 'cause she just got out of school, out of college—but, uh, Tiffany, who has also been so terrific. They work so hard,” he told Fox News.

 

[Zola]

How terrible for Tiffany, for her own family to treat her so, and for the whole world to know it. 

I remember when she was born. My mother had a subscription to People magazine back in the day, and I recall flipping past stories about the whole Marla Maples thing. I didn't care about Donald Trump back then, didn't pay attention to crap about him other than to be aware that he was some disgusting perv millionaire who had very publicly traded in a wife for a mistress after an affair, and there were innocent children in the wreckage. 

I did read the story about Tiffany having been born. I have a clear memory of rolling my eyes at reading that that they had named her Tiffany "after their favorite store." FFS, ewww. Even if that's true (and I'm sure it was), you don't announce it out loud like it's some wickedly clever name idea.

That was 23, 24 years ago? I would have been about 20, 21 years old myself. I felt bad for her then, no matter how rich her family was. She had an embarrassing name story, she was the child of the mistress, and I didn't even know at the time that Trump had suggested she be aborted rather than born. Then that marriage fell apart, and Tiffany became the next innocent child in the wreckage of her father's selfishness.

I had heard that Ivanka went and got her a credit card from Daddy some time ago. I guess the TT wouldn't give Tiffany one but would if Ivanka asked? I don't know, but it's PATHETIC. I thought maybe Ivanka and Tiffany were close, maybe Ivanka had her little sister's back, so to speak? But now this...Ivanka teamed up with Junior to push Tiffany out of inheritance? Really??

How much money is enough??? 

 

 

[catlady]

this makes me feel equally bad for Barron; what will his life be like 10 to 15 years from now, and what do/will the oldest three really think of him?

[onekidanddone]

Orange King Lear. Tiffany if you read here, grab Barron and run like hell.  Barron better not eat any food Ivanka, Fredo One or Fredo Two serve him. 

[JMarie]

You have to wonder if the older kids tried something similar with Barron's inheritance.  

[GreyhoundFan]

Interesting update on Ivanka's businesses: "Ivanka Trump’s supply chains in China cloaked in secrecy"

Spoiler

... < graphic >

SHANGHAI (AP) — It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags, shoes and clothes is more secret than ever, an Associated Press investigation has found.

In the months since she took her White House role, public information about the companies importing Ivanka Trump goods to the U.S. has become harder to find. Information that once routinely appeared in private trade tracking data has vanished, leaving the identities of companies involved in 90 percent of shipments unknown. Even less is known about her manufacturers. Trump’s brand, which is still owned by the first daughter and presidential adviser, declined to disclose the information.

The deepening secrecy means it’s unclear who Ivanka Trump’s company is doing business with in China, even as she and her husband, Jared Kushner, have emerged as important conduits for top Chinese officials in Washington. The lack of disclosure makes it difficult to understand whether foreign governments could use business ties with her brand to try to influence the White House — and whether her company stands to profit from foreign government subsidies that can destroy American jobs. Such questions are especially pronounced in China, where state-owned and state-subsidized companies dominate large swaths of commercial activity.

“There should be more transparency, but right now we do not have the legal mechanism to enforce transparency unless Congress requests information through a subpoena,” said Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer for George W. Bush, and is part of a lawsuit against President Donald Trump for alleged constitutional violations. “I don’t know how much money she’s making on this and why it’s worth it. I think it’s putting our trade policy in a very awkward situation.”

An AP review of the records that are available about Ivanka Trump’s supply chain found two potential red flags. In one case, a province in eastern China announced the award of export subsidies to a company that shipped thousands of Ivanka Trump handbags between March 2016 and February of this year, Chinese public records show — a possible violation by China of global fair trade rules, trade experts said.

The AP also found that tons of Ivanka Trump clothing were exported from 2013 to 2015 by a company owned by the Chinese government, according to public records and trade data. It is unclear whether the brand is still working with that company, or other state-owned entities. Her brand has pledged to avoid business with state-owned companies now that she’s a White House adviser, but contends that its supply chains are not its direct responsibility.

Ivanka Trump’s brand doesn’t actually make its products directly. Instead, it contracts with licensees who oversee production of her merchandise. In exchange, those licensees pay the brand royalties. The AP asked Ivanka Trump’s brand for a list of its suppliers. The company declined to disclose them. The clothing, footwear and handbag licensees contacted by AP also declined to reveal source factories.

Trump’s Democratic opponents have previously faulted Ivanka Trump for outsourcing the production of her company’s branded goods to Chinese factories with questionable working conditions. On Tuesday, Democratic National Committee spokesman Daniel Wessel cited the AP’s reporting to argue that the secrecy around her brand’s subcontracting relationships could conceal potential conflicts of interest.

“What we don’t know is the extent to which foreign governments could use, or are already using, her business ties to try to influence the White House,” he said.

Abigail Klem, president of IT Operations LLC, which manages Ivanka Trump’s brand, said the company does not contract with foreign state-owned companies or benefit from Chinese government subsidies. However, she acknowledged that its licensees might.

“We license the rights to our brand name to licensing companies that have their own supply chains and distribution networks,” Klem said in an email. “The brand receives royalties on sales to wholesalers and would not benefit if a licensee increased its profit margin by obtaining goods at a lower cost,” she added.

But Michael Stone, chairman of Beanstalk, a global brand licensing agency, said lower production costs for licensees would ultimately benefit Ivanka Trump by freeing up money for marketing or lower retail prices, both of which drive sales.

“It gives her a competitive advantage and an indirect benefit to her financially,” Stone said. “The more successful the licensee is the more successful Ivanka Trump is going to be.”

The AP identified companies that sent Ivanka Trump products to the United States by looking at shipment data maintained by ImportGenius and Panjiva Inc., private companies that independently track global trade. Panjiva’s records show that 85 percent of shipments of her goods to the U.S. this year originated in China and Hong Kong, but beyond that, it’s becoming more difficult to map the brand’s global footprint.

The companies that shipped Ivanka Trump merchandise to the U.S. are listed for just five of 57 shipments logged by Panjiva from the end of March, when she officially became a presidential adviser, through mid-September. Panjiva collects data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which did not immediately release the missing data to AP.

While in many cases the manufacturer ships goods directly, merchandise can also be made by one company and shipped by another trading or consolidation company.

There used to be more visibility. Last year, 27 percent of the companies that exported Ivanka Trump merchandise to the U.S. were identified in Panjiva’s records, and back in 2014 a full 95 percent were named. For two of Ivanka Trump’s licensees — G-III Apparel Group Ltd. and Marc Fisher Footwear — the number of shipments appears to plunge in 2015, likely because they “requested to hide” their shipment activity, according to Panjiva records. Neither company responded to AP’s questions.

The brand declined to comment on the growing murkiness of its supply chain.

Chris Rogers, an analyst at Panjiva, said any company can ask customs authorities to redact its information for any reason. About a quarter of companies request anonymity, he said, but the majority don’t mind disclosing who they’re doing business with.

“A lot of companies have said, ‘yes there might be a commercial disadvantage, but we want to be transparent about our supply chain,'” he explained. “‘Why would we want to cover up the fact that we’re working with this particular company?'”

While ethics lawyers may see disclosure as the best antidote to conflict of interest, many brands see it as a tool to keep supply chains scandal-free. Public outcry over sweatshop conditions and worker suicides prompted companies like Nike Inc. and Apple Inc. to disclose the names and addresses of their manufacturers, and a growing number, including Gap Inc., the H&M Group, New Balance Athletics Inc., Adidas AG and Levi Strauss & Co., publicly identify their suppliers.

Ivanka Trump should do the same, said Allen Adamson, founder and CEO of BrandSimple Consulting. “It’s a missed opportunity to lead by example.”

What shipping records do show is that a company called Zhejiang Tongxiang Foreign Trade Group Co. Ltd., a sprawling conglomerate once majority-owned by the Chinese state, sent at least 30 tons of Ivanka Trump handbags to the U.S. between March 2016 and February.

Zhejiang province’s commerce department said in June 2014 that it would help lower export costs for that same company, along with nine other local enterprises, through a special three-year trade promotion program. Among the measures outlined were export insurance subsidies and funding for online trading platforms and international marketing, as well as special funds earmarked for foreign trade companies with large-scale, fast-growing exports.

The value of the subsidies is unclear, as are details about how the directives were implemented, but using subsidies to reduce the price of exports is considered so destructive to fair trade that the World Trade Organization generally bans the practice. Chinese government subsidies hurt American workers but can lower costs for U.S. companies that import made-in-China merchandise, potentially boosting their profits. President Donald Trump has called companies that benefit from foreign government subsidies “cheaters.”

The AP spoke with four trade experts in the United States and China who said the Zhejiang measures appeared to violate World Trade Organization rules. “These are clearly export subsidies,” said Gary Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

Zhejiang province’s Department of Commerce and the Zhejiang Tongxiang Foreign Trade Group declined comment.

The AP also found that from Oct. 2013 to Jan. 2015, Jiangsu High Hope International Group Corp., a conglomerate majority-owned by the Jiangsu provincial government, shipped 45 tons of Ivanka Trump clothing to the U.S., according to records from ImportGenius and Panjiva.

High Hope told AP it had “a small number of business dealings” with Ivanka Trump licensee G-III Apparel, but declined to answer questions about whether the relationship is ongoing.

G-III, which is based in New York City, declined to respond to specific questions but said in a statement that it is “committed to legal compliance and ethical business practices in all of our operations worldwide.” Ivanka Trump licensee Mondani Handbags & Accessories Inc., also headquartered in New York, did not respond to requests for comment.

Ivanka Trump’s brand said it was in the process of reviewing its supply chains with the help of “independent experts whose mission it is to advance human rights” and emphasized that all licensees, manufacturers, subcontractors and suppliers are required to abide by the law, as well as ethical practices set forth in a vendor code of conduct.

The AP asked to see the code of conduct, but the brand declined to share it.

 

[hoipolloi]

A big, detailed article on Jared:

Quote

Jared ran the Trump campaign’s Internet operation. Some say that his work was crucial to victory—the boy-genius thesis. Others say Kushner was essentially ballast. “We’re talking about a guy who isn’t particularly bright or hard-working, doesn’t actually know anything,” Harleen Kahlon, the digital maven who worked for Kushner at the Observer, wrote on Facebook. She said he “has bought his way into everything ever (with money he got from his criminal father)” and that he is “deeply insecure and obsessed with fame (you don’t buy the N.Y.O., marry Ivanka Trump, or constantly talk about the phone calls you get from celebrities if it’s in your nature to ‘shun the spotlight’).” Kushner, she concluded, is “basically a shithead.”

 

[candygirl200413]

Me and Tiffany are exact birthday twins so I feel like I just have this weird need to stand up for her? So When I read about the inheritance I was just like how must it suck for none of your siblings basically to like you just cause your mom married their dad.

 

[Childless]

Nope.  I have no sympathy for Tiffany or Marla.  First of all, after the crap way they were treated by Trump, the two of them were tripping over themselves to attend the inauguration.  No sense of self worth.  Then, they were all but begging for free hairdos for the stupid thing.  No class whatsoever.  They both lived 3000 miles away from Trump for the last 20+ years.  They could easily have disassociated themselves.  They chose not to based solely on money.  If you're willing to sell yourself out for money, then don't expect others to give you any respect.

[GreyhoundFan]

OMG, this is too much: "Jared Kushner registered to vote as a woman. It’s not his first paperwork mistake.'

Spoiler

Jared Kushner's bad week just got a little weirder.

On Sunday, Politico reported that the presidential son-in-law and adviser corresponded with top White House officials through a private email server (and he wasn't the only one). On Monday, a prankster impersonating the real estate scion — apparently convincingly — asked his lawyer what to do with pictures “featuring adult content” he said he had received. The lawyer responded: “Don't delete. Don't send to anyone. Let's chat in a bit.”

While reports about Kushner's emails are not analogous with those on Hillary Clinton's, they nonetheless raised questions about security and hypocrisy in the chaotic Trump White House, from which Trump ridiculed Clinton for her use of a private email server long after Election Day.

The news on Wednesday was different, but nonetheless eyebrow-raising: When Jared Kushner registered to vote in 2009, he apparently identified his sex as female.

Democratic opposition research group American Bridge spotted the error, which was first reported by Wired.

It prompted any number of questions.

There were only two options on the New York voter registration form he filled out: M, for male, and F, for female.

Did he mean to register as a female? Was it unintentional? If so, how did he mess that up?

A spokesperson for Kushner did not respond to a request for comment. Before 2009, his New Jersey voter registration noted his gender as “unknown," The Hill reported.

It's not the first time Kushner has run into trouble with important paperwork.

This summer, The Washington Post's Matt Zapotosky reported that three times, Kushner had filed updates to his national security questionnaire because of missing information.

The first time Kushner's national security questionnaire was submitted Jan. 18, the form did not list his foreign contact and got the dates of his graduate degrees and his father-in-law's address wrong.

“Kushner can't even fill out the most basic paperwork without screwing it up, so it's a mystery why anyone thinks he's somehow going to bring peace to the Middle East,” Brad Bainum, a spokesman for the Democratic political action committee American Bridge, told Wired.

Trump has given Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, a long list of responsibilities. Among other things, the 36-year-old has been charged with bringing peace to the Middle East, reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction.

A small group of White House lawyers this summer reportedly urged Kushner to step down amid a broadening probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russians in the 2016 election, but the idea to force him out was ultimately rejected.

The news that Kushner had registered to vote as a woman also struck some as ironic, given Trump's emphasis on rooting out allegedly rampant voter fraud, which he has so far failed to identify.

Kushner, along with former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, had registered to vote in two states during the fall election, The Washington Post reported earlier this year. Dual registration was one of the signs Trump pointed to when claiming widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election, which has led to a “major investigation” into his unsubstantiated claim that millions of people illegally cast votes for Clinton.

Earlier this month, Trump's voter fraud commission, which is chaired by Vice President Pence, got off to a rocky start at its first meeting in New Jersey, with Democratic members openly questioning whether conservative analysts were overstating evidence of voting fraud.

But Kushner's misstated gender likely does not constitute a voter fraud, according to Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt.

“There has to be an intent to give the false information,” Levitt told Wired. “If he (for some reason) knowingly registered as a woman — for what purpose, I could not guess — that might be described as voter fraud, though it would have negligible effect on the determination of his eligibility, and so wouldn't amount to much anyway.”

Comedian Samantha Bee, the host of TBS' “Full Frontal,” is not cutting Kushner any slack.

Bee, a vocal Trump critic, tweeted the article on Wednesday with the phrase “lock her up,” turning the common chant Trump supporters used on Clinton against Kushner.

...

Hmm, maybe Kobach should pay Jared a visit... Also, I hope he's using the correct restroom, since the Repugs worry so much about stuff like that and he seems confused.

[GrumpyGran]

14 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

OMG, this is too much: "Jared Kushner registered to vote as a woman. It’s not his first paperwork mistake.'

  Reveal hidden contents

Jared Kushner's bad week just got a little weirder.

On Sunday, Politico reported that the presidential son-in-law and adviser corresponded with top White House officials through a private email server (and he wasn't the only one). On Monday, a prankster impersonating the real estate scion — apparently convincingly — asked his lawyer what to do with pictures “featuring adult content” he said he had received. The lawyer responded: “Don't delete. Don't send to anyone. Let's chat in a bit.”

While reports about Kushner's emails are not analogous with those on Hillary Clinton's, they nonetheless raised questions about security and hypocrisy in the chaotic Trump White House, from which Trump ridiculed Clinton for her use of a private email server long after Election Day.

The news on Wednesday was different, but nonetheless eyebrow-raising: When Jared Kushner registered to vote in 2009, he apparently identified his sex as female.

Democratic opposition research group American Bridge spotted the error, which was first reported by Wired.

It prompted any number of questions.

There were only two options on the New York voter registration form he filled out: M, for male, and F, for female.

Did he mean to register as a female? Was it unintentional? If so, how did he mess that up?

A spokesperson for Kushner did not respond to a request for comment. Before 2009, his New Jersey voter registration noted his gender as “unknown," The Hill reported.

It's not the first time Kushner has run into trouble with important paperwork.

This summer, The Washington Post's Matt Zapotosky reported that three times, Kushner had filed updates to his national security questionnaire because of missing information.

The first time Kushner's national security questionnaire was submitted Jan. 18, the form did not list his foreign contact and got the dates of his graduate degrees and his father-in-law's address wrong.

“Kushner can't even fill out the most basic paperwork without screwing it up, so it's a mystery why anyone thinks he's somehow going to bring peace to the Middle East,” Brad Bainum, a spokesman for the Democratic political action committee American Bridge, told Wired.

Trump has given Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser, a long list of responsibilities. Among other things, the 36-year-old has been charged with bringing peace to the Middle East, reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction.

A small group of White House lawyers this summer reportedly urged Kushner to step down amid a broadening probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russians in the 2016 election, but the idea to force him out was ultimately rejected.

The news that Kushner had registered to vote as a woman also struck some as ironic, given Trump's emphasis on rooting out allegedly rampant voter fraud, which he has so far failed to identify.

Kushner, along with former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, had registered to vote in two states during the fall election, The Washington Post reported earlier this year. Dual registration was one of the signs Trump pointed to when claiming widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election, which has led to a “major investigation” into his unsubstantiated claim that millions of people illegally cast votes for Clinton.

Earlier this month, Trump's voter fraud commission, which is chaired by Vice President Pence, got off to a rocky start at its first meeting in New Jersey, with Democratic members openly questioning whether conservative analysts were overstating evidence of voting fraud.

But Kushner's misstated gender likely does not constitute a voter fraud, according to Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt.

“There has to be an intent to give the false information,” Levitt told Wired. “If he (for some reason) knowingly registered as a woman — for what purpose, I could not guess — that might be described as voter fraud, though it would have negligible effect on the determination of his eligibility, and so wouldn't amount to much anyway.”

Comedian Samantha Bee, the host of TBS' “Full Frontal,” is not cutting Kushner any slack.

Bee, a vocal Trump critic, tweeted the article on Wednesday with the phrase “lock her up,” turning the common chant Trump supporters used on Clinton against Kushner.

...

Hmm, maybe Kobach should pay Jared a visit... Also, I hope he's using the correct restroom, since the Repugs worry so much about stuff like that and he seems confused.

I don't have a very high opinion of Jared but this is seriously confounding. I'm starting to think the key to Jared's existence in the Trump world has to do with him being just as stupid as Trump himself. Trump looks at him and sees himself so he tells the world Jared can solve all of the world's problems because he believes he can solve all of the world's problems.

Or he could be one of those ultimate jerks who never takes anything seriously so he intentionally did it as a joke. How do you screw something like this up? Repeatedly.