- In my opinion, the Joe Biden story is a political hit by the Hillary Clinton campaign.
LOOK at the source of the story. The NY Observer is a small, Manhatten rag. It was bought a few months ago for $10 Million by a 25 year old named Jared Kushner.
- If you're wondering where a 25 year old got $10 million -- and why that 25 year old would buy a newspaper losing $2 Million/year -- maybe it will help if I note that Jared's father is Charles Kushner.
- I see some of you starting to grin.
Yes, that Charles Kushner.
The New York Times article re purchase of the Observer gives a small hint of the story
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" The Kushner name is well known to readers of The Observer and other media outlets, which have given thorough coverage to federal charges against his father, Charles B. Kushner, who was a major Democratic fund-raiser and contributor to James E. McGreevey, the former governor of New Jersey.
Charles Kushner was sentenced last year to two years in prison after pleading guilty to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign donations. He also admitted to hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law and having a videotape of the encounter sent to his sister, the man’s wife, in an attempt to get back at her for cooperating with a federal investigation into his business activities.
The elder Mr. Kushner now lives in a halfway house in Newark run by the Department of Corrections and is expected to be released in late August. A spokesman for his real estate company, Kushner Companies, said that the son, Jared, had worked for the company until recently. "
Ref: http://www.nytimes.com/... 31observer.html?ex=1311998400&en=f4991c917bbed5d5&ei=5088& partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
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- Heh heh heh . His own SISTER!
But a CNN story back in 2004 fills in the picture a little better:
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New Jersey fund-raiser charged
Prosecutors say developer tried to block federal probe
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 Posted: 8:11 AM EDT (1211 GMT)
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Real estate developer and political fund-raiser Charles Kushner of Livingston, New Jersey, was charged by federal prosecutors Tuesday with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and interstate promotion of prostitution.
The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie for New Jersey....
...In February 2003, Christie's office began investigating Kushner for alleged violation of federal tax and fraud statutes and for purported violation of federal campaign contribution laws.
According to the indictment, two of the cooperating witnesses in the investigation -- a married couple described as close relatives of Kushner -- provided information against him to federal investigators.
The indictment alleges that Kushner initiated "a scheme to orchestrate a covert videotaped seduction" of the cooperating male witness in an attempt to thwart the investigation.
The indictment says Kushner recruited two individuals to hire a woman to have sex with the male witness and later instructed them to mail the videotape to the man's wife, who was the other cooperating witness in the investigation....
...According to the Federal Election Commission, Kushner has made more than $1.4 million in individual contributions through his numerous real estate entities.
The FEC fined Kushner $508,900 last month for contributing money improperly to candidates in the names of his companies, the AP reported.
Kushner contributed to the campaigns of several prominent Democrats, including Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, according to FEC records."
Ref: http://www.cnn.com/... index.html
- No, Wait. It gets better. Why did the Feds get involved to begin with? Anyone remember a certain New Jersey Governor?
From wikipedia.org's article on Charles Kushner:
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""Charles Kushner is a New Jersey real estate magnate and a major donor to Democratic politicians, most notably to Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey. On August 19, 2004, he pleaded guilty to tax violations and charges related to witness tampering. The witness tampering charges dealt with an incident in which Kushner tried to use a prostitute in a blackmail scheme. The plea deal does not require Kushner to cooperate with investigators, however....
...Kushner sponsored the work visa for Golan Cipel, Governor
McGreevey's alleged lover. It was suspected that this relationship was used to blackmail the governor"
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Ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
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Ha ha ha ha. Ole Charles strikes me as someone who could use a Presidental pardon.
Wonder if Marc Rich told him the going rate?