DoD/Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro/Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner initially “inadvertently omitted” more than 70 assets worth at least $ 10.6 million from his personal financial disclosure reports, according to revised paperwork released Friday.
The previously unreported assets were added to updated financial disclosure reports certified by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on Thursday as part of the “ordinary review process,” the forms said.
Among the new disclosures, Kushner reported owning art worth more than $ 5 million. The new forms also reflect that Kushner sold his interest in an aging shopping mall in Eatontown, New Jersey, and no longer has a stake in a company that had held an interest in property in Toledo, Ohio.
Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump, also filed new federal disclosures. She reported assets of at least $ 66 million and earned at least $ 13.5 million in income last year from her various business ventures.
A lawyer advising Kushner said that federal officials are allowed to amend their initial financial disclosures before they are certified, and stressed that Kushner had complex finances.
“Jared and Ivanka have followed each of the required steps in their transition from private citizens to federal officials. The Office of Government Ethics has certified Jared’s financial disclosure, reflecting its determination that his approach complies with federal ethics laws,” said Kushner attorney Jamie Gorelick. “Ivanka’s financial disclosure form is still in the pre-certification stage, as she began the process later.”
Clay Johnson, who served as President George W. Bush’s director of presidential personnel, said he was surprised by the sheer number of updates six months in. He said the Bush administration’s direction to nominees was “tell us what we ask for now. We will then stand behind you whatever may come in. But there are to be no surprises.”
