WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday his intention to nominate Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the ambassador to France.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Charles Kushner as “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker.”

Charles Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a well-known real estate firm. Jared Kushner has previously served as a senior advisor to Trump and is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.

The elder Kushner received a presidential pardon from Trump in December 2020, following his guilty plea years earlier to charges including tax evasion and making illegal campaign contributions.

According to prosecutors, Charles Kushner plotted an act of revenge after learning that his brother-in-law had cooperated with federal investigators. This led him to hire a sex worker to lure his brother-in-law, subsequently recording the encounter at a motel in New Jersey with a hidden camera, which he later sent to his sister, the victim’s wife.

Eventually, Charles Kushner pleaded guilty to a total of 18 charges, including tax evasion and witness tampering. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison, which was the maximum penalty under the plea agreement, although this was less than what Chris Christie, the then U.S. attorney for New Jersey, sought during the prosecution.

Christie has publicly criticized Jared Kushner for his dismissal from Trump’s transition team in 2016, and he has condemned Charles Kushner’s actions as “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney.”

Trump and Charles Kushner have had a long-standing connection through their involvement in real estate, and their children’s marriage in 2009 further solidified their relationship.