The unconscionable conflicts of Kushner

Kushner may yet be indicted in Robert Mueller’s investigation. But it could turn out that Kushner’s most significant contribution to the stench of this administration will come from his financial conflicts of interest.

When he took the White House job, Kushner chose not to follow the usual practice of wealthy people when they join administrations — putting their assets into blind trusts managed by outside experts.

Instead, Kushner retained control over the vast majority of his interest in Kushner Cos., worth as much as $761 million, according to government ethics filings.

So how has Kushner separated his business dealings from his dealings on behalf of the United States? He hasn’t.

The New York Times reported last week that after the CEOs of Citigroup and Apollo Global Management attended White House meetings set up by Kushner, the two firms loaned the Kushner family business more than $500 million.

Last spring, Kushner’s real-estate firm sought hundreds of millions of dollars directly from the Qatar government for its distressed property on Fifth Avenue in New York City, the Intercept reported. Soon after Qatar turned down the request, Kushner reportedly backed a diplomatic assault on Qatar that sparked a crisis continuing today.

Kushner insists that he’s done nothing wrong, and that there’s no direct evidence he has profited from his position in the White House or put personal financial interests ahead of the interests of the American public.

But that’s not the point. Conflicts of interest are always difficult to prove, which is why we have ethics rules to avoid even the appearance of such conflicts.

Perhaps Kushner tells himself that the American public is already so cynical about big money’s takeover of our democracy that his own apparent (or real) conflicts are chicken feed by comparison.

Which may be true. But by adding to the distrust, Kushner is doing his own bit to destroy American democracy — actions almost as treasonous as if he colluded with Russians to make his father-in-law president.