Jared Kushner Breaks Silence on Trump Indictment

President Donald Trump talks on a phone call with the leaders of Sudan and Israel, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (L), Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, and National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien applaud in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 23, 2020. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

Former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and erstwhile White House advisor Jared Kushner responded to a Manhattan grand jury having indicted the former president, calling it “very unprecedented.”

During a Future Investment Initiative Institute summit, Kushner told a crowd that “as an American, it’s very troubling to me to see the leader of the opposition party be indicted ... and I think that shows, obviously, the fear that the Democrats have of Trump, and the political strength that he has.”

“It’s been hard to watch the opponents of him politically continue to break every norm over the last years to try to get him,” Kushner also said during the speech. “I’ve been by him in a lot of these instances and it’s only made him stronger and his resolve to take on big challenges to fight for change, to fight for the American people has only gotten stronger,” Kushner said before referring to now-unsubstantiated allegations that he colluded with the Russian government to win the 2016 election, according to the Times of Israel.

Kushner served as a senior advisor to Trump during his entire term in office, from 2017 to 2021. He’s the husband of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, who also issued a statement on her father’s indictment late last week.

“I love my father and I love my country. Today I am pained for both. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern,” Ivanka wrote on Instagram.

It came after Manhattan District Attorney’s Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on yet-to-be-disclosed charges in connection into alleged hush-money payments made to Stormy Daniels in 2016. The indictment hasn’t been unsealed yet, although it likely will be when Trump arrives in New York to be arraigned.

Reports indicate that Bragg, who has been investigating Trump, will charge the former president with counts of falsifying business records when he allegedly misclassified the payment as a business expense when it should have been a campaign expense. Some legal experts, including former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, have said that the charges Bragg are bringing should be classified misdemeanors but say he is using an untested legal theory to charge Trump with a felony.

Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told news outlets Friday that the former commander-in-chief is looking to file motions to dismiss the case in the near future. He also said there is “zero chance” Trump will take a plea deal in the case, adding that Trump also won’t be handcuffed.

“This is unprecedented in this country’s history. I don’t know what to expect other than an arraignment,” he told media. “I understand they’re going to be closing off blocks around the courthouse, shutting down the courthouse. You know, we’ll go in there and we’ll proceed to see a judge at some point, plead not guilty, start talking about filing motions, which we will do immediately and very aggressively regarding the legal viability of this case.”

Other Details

After Trump announced his third bid for the presidency last year, Ivanka indicated that she won’t be involved in his campaign or “in politics” in general. “While I will always love and support my father, going forward, I will do so outside the political arena. I am grateful to have had the honor of serving the American people and will always be proud of many of our administration’s accomplishments,” she added.

And in late 2022, Trump confirmed in a Truth Social post that both Ivanka and Kushner will not be involved in his 2024 White House run. Reports at the time that claimed they would be involved are false, he declared.

“Contrary to Fake News reporting, I never asked Jared or Ivanka to be part of the 2024 Campaign for President and, in fact, specifically asked them not to do it—too mean and nasty with the Fake & Corrupt News and having to deal with some absolutely horrendous SleazeBags in the world of politics, and beyond,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.