Islam Times - Ivanka, Kushner made over $82m outside White House roles

Islam Times - US President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have reportedly earned at least 82 million dollars from outside income while serving as senior White House advisers.

The revelation was made by the Washington Post on Tuesday, raising concern about possible conflicts of interest.

The American daily, citing financial disclosure forms, reported that Ivanka had made 3.9 million dollars from her stake in the Trump International Hotel and more than two million dollars from her personal clothing brand during 2017.

The US president’s daughter also received a $289,000 advance for her book, Women Who Work, published last year. She said she would donate the profits from the book to charity.

Ivanka’s husband brought in over five million dollars in income last year from Quail Ridge, a New Jersey apartment complex that was purchased by his family’s business, Kushner Companies.

The Post reported that Jared’s 2017 assets were worth between $179m and $735m, while Ivanka’s were worth between about $55.3m and $75.6m.

The couple’s vast business investments have repeatedly drawn scrutiny for potential ethics violations and conflicts of interest, with watchdog groups in the United States accusing the Trump family of using the presidency and its stature for personal profit.

Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for the couple's ethics counsel, however, claimed that Ivanka and Kushner had abided by government ethics rules.

"Since joining the administration, Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump have complied with the rules and restrictions as set out by the Office of Government Ethics," Mirijanian said in a statement.

Trump has faced a furious backlash from political opponents and ethics experts for placing his children in positions of power.

The New York Times claimed in March that Trump had “privately asked” his chief of staff John Kelly for help in ousting Ivanka and her husband from their advisory roles at the White House.

The media outlet said that Trump had spoken to the pair and called on them to stay on at the White House, but had privately stated they “never should have come” to work there.

Ivanka worked for her billionaire father's company before Trump was elected president and is now an unpaid White House adviser.
Her 36-year-old husband is a real estate developer from New York and was also appointed as a senior White House adviser by the president. Neither have previous government experience.

Kushner is also in the spotlight after investigations led by the US Justice Department and several congressional committees about the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.