Warren turns focus to Kushner’s loans

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) joined several other Democrats on Friday demanding information from two companies on their business dealings with President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

In two letters obtained by Politico, the Massachusetts Democrat, alongside Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), called for Citigroup and Apollo Global Management to release details of loans they provided Kushner Companies after meeting with Kushner in the White House.

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“Federal ethics laws prohibit federal employees from profiting from their government service, and Mr. Kushner’s refusal to fully divest from his financial holdings raises questions about his behavior as a Special Adviser to President Trump,” the letter to Citigroup reads. “It would be a serious matter if the loans provided to Kushner Companies by Citigroup resulted in a violation of federal ethics laws.”

The letters go on to demand information as to whether Kushner and representatives from the two companies discussed the loans or the Kushner Companies in any way during their meetings in the White House.

Kushner has been at the center of questions about his foreign business dealings since joining the Trump administration last year, and recently had his security clearance downgraded from the top secret/SCI level to the secret level, a move brought on by months of failure to satisfy background check investigators.

A report last week revealed that Kushner obtained millions in loans after hosting executives from Apollo and Citigroup at the White House.

White House chief of staff John Kelly, who made the decision to downgrade Kushner’s clearance, said in a statement that he retains full confidence in Kushner to carry out his White House tasks.

“As I told Jared days ago, I have full confidence in his ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign policy portfolio including overseeing our Israeli-Palestinian peace effort and serving as an integral part of our relationship with Mexico,” Kelly said.