Jack Goldsmith, of Harvard Law School and, according to The New York Times, "one of the brightest stars in the conservative legal firmament," has been performing taxonomic labors on the pardons issued (so far) by President Trump:
Total pardons/commutations by Trump: 94.
— Jack Goldsmith (@jacklgoldsmith) December 24, 2020
Breakdown:
1) Advance political agenda? 68/94
2) Personal Connection? 40/94
3) TV/TV Commentator? 13/94
4) Celebrity? 20/94
Personal or Political Connections (i.e. 1,2,3 or 4): 86/94 (91%)https://t.co/gGHEUOuEGR
The pardon of Charles Kushner, father of Trump's son-in-law Jared, husband to Ivanka, clearly belongs in category #2, "personal connection." But I think the men are bound by more than just the marriage of their children. They are of the same class and general line of work ("real estate development"), and there is a certain affinity of means, methods, and legal troubles. Under the terms of a deal he struck with Chris Christie, at the time the US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Kushner in 2005 pleaded guilty to 18 counts of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering. The details of the witness tampering are the most captivating. When he discovered that he was being investigated, and that his sister was cooperating with the g-men, Kushner hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, who was also cooperating with John Law. The hooker succeeded at her assigned task and their sex act was, according to plan, recorded by a hidden camera in a New Jersey motel room. The recording was subsequently delivered to Kushner's sister, which, by Christie's theory of the case, was for the dual purpose of punishing her for her cooperation with the investigation and to encourage her and her spouse to desist. That was the witness tampering count to which Charles Kushner pleaded guilty, a crime for which he has now been pardoned.
I'm sure there must be many Americans whose grandfathers are both criminals. The children of Jared and Ivanka, however, belong to a special little subset of that demographic: one of their criminal grandpas was pardoned by the other criminal grandpa, who was also the President of the United States. It's a charming Christmas tale that makes me proud to be an American. Happy Holidays!
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