Jared Kushner Is ‘Draining The Swamp’ And Starting With Those Close To The President-Elect [Opinion]

Jared Kushner is “draining the swamp,” and he is starting with those close to his father-in-law, Donald Trump, the Daily Mail is reporting.

On Tuesday, Chris Christie, one of the first Republicans to endorse Trump was replaced on the White House transition team by VP-elect, Mike Pence. Mike Rogers, a former Republican congressman and close friend of Christie who was part of the president-elect’s transition team, was also cut off without explanation. Rogers confirmed his exit in a statement, adding that he was still available to “provide advice and counsel as needed to the incoming Trump administration.”

Sources say Jared Kushner purged Christie from Trump’s inner circle as retribution for what he did to his father, Charles Kushner. Additionally, the 35-year-old is alleged to be getting rid of anyone else with ties to the New Jersey governor, which was why Rogers also got the chop.

Rogers chaired the House intelligence committee and was a clear-cut candidate for CIA director. The FBI special agent and former army officer revealed that he was proud of the work he and his team had accomplished to produce personnel guidance and policy “on the complex national security challenges facing our great country.”

Jared Kushner vs. Chris Christie: The nasty Trump transition fight that goes back a decade https://t.co/GLe38Inyr8 pic.twitter.com/t5rYTqSD9E

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 16, 2016

Charles Kushner, a real estate developer, big-money Democratic donor, and philanthropist was jailed in 2004 by Chris Christie when he was US Attorney for New Jersey. His reputation was left in shreds after he pleaded guilty to 18 counts of illicit campaign donations, witness tampering, and tax evasion.

During the criminal case, Charles Kushner confessed to blackmailing his brother-in-law by setting him up with a prostitute because he was planning to turn over evidence to prosecutors. Charles Kushner sent a recorded video of the sexual encounter to his sister, hoping to upset the apple cart. He was sent to prison, and Jared, who is married to Ivanka and was a Harvard undergraduate at the time, took over his father’s business.

Jared, who was 24-years-old at the time, became a powerhouse player in the real estate market despite his young years. Two years later, in 2006, Kushner, who is an Orthodox Jew, facilitated the most high-priced single building purchase in U.S. history when he bought a Manhattan 41-story skyscraper for $1.8 billion.

One of Christie’s associates had debunked the claims of a “Stalinesque purge” in the Trump camp, saying the characterization was “overblown.” According to the source, some of Christie’s staff had only moved on to make way for VP-elect’s Mike Pence’s own people.

Kushner is one of the few people around who wields an influence on the president-elect. The 35-year-old, who married Ivanka in 2009, emerged as a decisive voice in the Trump campaign when it became official in June 2015. He has played a central role in almost every facet of the Trump campaign, including speeches, fundraising, strategy, and offering advice on crucial personnel decisions.

https://twitter.com/espiers/status/796080287696453634

The clean-shaven real estate scion, who manages a family real estate company, Kushner Companies, is also the publisher of the Observer newspaper, a weekly New York publication. Kushner was the one who spearheaded the possibility of a Trump television network in case his father-in-law was to lose the elections.

After clinching the Republican primary ticket, Donald Trump, in a victory speech, had praised his son-in-law for giving him a shot at the White House, adding that his son-in-law had a penchant for politics even though he had made a success in the real estate market.

“Honestly, Jared is a successful real estate person. But I actually think he likes politics more than he likes real estate…he’s very good at politics.”

Donald Trump requests security clearance for son-in-law Jared Kushner. It's been a long, strange journey https://t.co/MfFCO3Yfzg

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) November 16, 2016

Donald Trump allegedly took the unconventional step of asking that his son-in-law is given a top-secret clearance to join him in his daily presidential briefings, which began Tuesday.

The move has been questioned, with Trump accused of contravening the anti-nepotism law which prohibits presidents from picking family members for cabinet posts and formal government jobs. Trump insiders have argued that the Trump children, who all have roles on the transition team, are exempted from the law and will continue to advise their father in informal capacities even as they manage his empire.

[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/AP Images]