Kushner’s father on skyscraper: ‘I pushed Jared to do the deal’

Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, is taking the blame for his family firm’s purchase of a skyscraper on New York’s Fifth Avenue that is now more than $1 billion in debt.

Charles Kushner told CNN that “bad timing and bad judgment” led to the purchase of 666 Fifth Ave. for a record $1.8 billion in 2007.

“I pushed Jared to do the deal,” Charles Kushner said, referring to the senior White House adviser and President Trump’s son-in-law.

A year after the purchase, however, the financial crisis hit, and rent rates for office tenants plunged below half of what the Kushners were expecting to be able to charge, the news network noted.{mosads}

Kushner Companies now faces a deadline to refinance at least $1.2 billion in debt this year, and is reportedly considering the property’s sale, it added.

In March, The Intercept reported that the elder Kushner sought an investment from the government of Qatar just weeks before a Middle Eastern blockade against the country. The deal never went through.

Now, Charles Kushner tells CNN that the company’s focus has shifted to avoid business dealings that could conflict with Jared Kushner’s position in the White House.

“The question in our company today is not ‘what’s the best deal?’ ” Charles Kushner said. “We shy away from anything that could have a negative impact on Jared.”

He added that he speaks to his son every day, and told CNN his son thought he could have a “positive impact” by leaving the family company to work in the Trump administration. 

“Jared thought he could make a positive impact. In the end, I gave him my blessing,” his father said.

Charles Kushner was previously imprisoned and disbarred in 2005 after pleading guilty to charges of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.