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- Charles Kushner donated $1 million to Trump's super PAC.
- Kushner, who Trump pardoned, was one of the largest individual contributors to the super PAC.
- Trump and his allies have burned cash at an alarming rate, making the donation even more important.
Charles Kushner, the father of Donald Trump's son-in-law and the recipient of one of the former president's final pardons, donated $1 million to Trump's leading super PAC.
Kushner pleaded guilty in 2004 to a host of federal charges, including witness tampering and tax evasion. In one of the more salacious aspects of the case, Kushner hired a sex worker to lure his brother-in-law and then sent a video of their encounter to his sister. Chris Christie, who oversaw the case, called it "one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes," that he'd ever prosecuted. Christie has long thought that putting Jared Kushner's father in prison led to him being blocked within Trump's orbit. Kushner has been out of prison since 2006.
Not all the Kushners share an apparent aversion to Christie. Murray Kushner, Charles' brother and Jared's uncle, and his wife, Lee, each gave a max primary donation of $3,300 to Christie in June, The New York Post previously reported.
Charles Kushner's donation was one of the largest to the pro-Trump "Make America Great Again Inc" super PAC has received from an individual contributor through the end of June. The donation was likely welcomed in Trump's orbit as the former president and his allies burned through cash — much of it devoted to the former president and his aides' legal fees.
Trump faced a number of criticisms for how he flexed his pardon power in office, particularly in how it was used for allies such as Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Eliyahu "Eli" Weinstein, whose sentence Trump commuted, is already accused of orchestrating a new scheme after he was released from prison. While the Justice Department has a formal process for pardon applications, presidents are virtually free to use their power as they see fit.
A presidential pardon doesn't apparently guarantee a donation either. Trump pardoned former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. in 2020, announcing the surprise news with a White House event that featured Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and other NFL greats. DeBartolo Jr., who lives in Florida, maxed out to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with a $6,600 donation in June. Per federal limits, $3,300 of that donation cannot be used unless DeSantis makes the general election.
DeBartolo Jr. stepped down from running the franchise in 1997 after reports that he would be indicted for a gambling fraud scandal. He later avoided jail time.