First Daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump appears to be in serious trouble for not recusing herself from a Trump administration program which directly benefits her husband, Jared Kushner, who also serves as a top adviser to the president.
The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether or not Ivanka directly violated federal law by promoting an Opportunity Zone tax break program that both she and her husband may have benefited from:
BREAKING: We just filed a conflict of interest complaint against Ivanka Trump https://t.co/GnkpajL6vx
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) January 4, 2019
Last month, the Associated Press (AP) reported that Ivanka and Jared Kushner would be large beneficiaries of the Opportunity Zones program, which grants huge tax breaks to developers who invest in low-income communities:
“Kushner holds a big stake in a real estate investment firm, Cadre, that recently announced it is launching a series of Opportunity Zone funds that seek to build major projects under the program from Miami to Los Angeles. Separately, the couple has interests in at least 13 properties held by Kushner’s family firm that could qualify for the tax breaks because they are in Opportunity Zones in New Jersey, New York and Maryland — all of which, a study found, were already coming back.”
The CREW complaint alleges that Kushner’s financial interests are of considerable value to Ivanka Trump as well, which means she is guilty of ethical and legal violations.
CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder noted that “there is so much public information about (Ivanka’s) role in the Opportunity Zones program.”
Ivanka has been an ardent supporter of the Opportunity Zone program, sending out this tweet in November:
Opportunity Zones, passed in Tax Cuts legislation, will have a transformative effect on distressed urban and rural communities across America.
Thank you @SenatorTimScott for your advocacy of this great policy. @WhiteHouseCEA @sparker https://t.co/Z8Os4Xm1ks— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 9, 2018
The CREW filing also drew commentary from social media regarding the First Daughter:
Feckless? Party of one; your table is ready.
— Ronnie Vance (@theronnievance) January 5, 2019
Come on, if you can’t use your position and influence to fatten your bank account, what’s the point of Daddy even being President?
— centeredwarrior (@centeredwarrior) January 4, 2019
Please get her in an@Orange jumpsuit ASAP’
— Josseline (@Jossfjh) January 4, 2019
Thank you. Conflict of interest damages peoples’ trust in our government
— Rita Cary (@RitaCary) January 4, 2019
Featured Image Via the BBC
