Jared Kushner[1] and Ivanka Trump[2] are bracing for the publication of “Kushner, Inc.: Greed, Ambition, Corruption[3]” by Vicky Ward[4].
The book[5], subtitled “The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump,” due March 19 from St. Martin’s Press, will delve into the sordid case that got Jared’s father, real-estate developer Charles Kushner, a two-year prison sentence for witness tampering and other charges after Charles set a honey trap for his brother-in-law using a prostitute.
In 2005, Charles pleaded guilty to illegal campaign contributions and tax evasion in a deal brokered by then-US Attorney Chris Christie.
Jared, married for nine years to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, has served as the president’s adviser since his inauguration.
Ward, whose boyfriend Richard Cohen is a wealthy real-estate tycoon, was able to hire a team of investigative reporters from Newsweek after the magazine was raided by the Manhattan DA’s office[6] last year and several staffers were fired and others quit or were let go.
A source close to Ward said the reporters didn’t ghostwrite the book, but worked as fact checkers.
“Vicky did all the interviews — 220 in all,” said the source. “But she wanted top talent to double-check the facts. The turnover at Newsweek was beneficial.”
The Kushner camp — presented months ago with a list of questions from Ward — claims her facts are fabrications.
“Every point that Ms. Ward mentioned in what she calls her ‘fact-checking’ stage is entirely false,” Peter Mirijanian, spokesman for Jared’s lawyer Abbe Lowell, told me. “It seems she has written a book of fiction rather than any serious attempt to get the facts. Correcting everything wrong would take too long