Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is closing in on multibillion-dollar deals to buy real estate for tourism projects in Serbia and Albania, a move which watchdogs say is concerning this close to the 2024 presidential election. Kushner and his business partner, former Trump administration official Richard Grenell, both reportedly used their connections to foreign officials to draft the deals, which include plans to develop more tourist sites in the Balkan countries. “We are very excited,” Kushner told the Times. “We have not finalized these deals, so they might not happen, but we have been working hard and are pretty close.” Robert Weissman, president of the progressive think tank Public Citizen, warned that these deals, which directly involve foreign governments, appear unethical. “At this point in the election cycle Jared Kushner should freeze any new investment plans,” Weissman told TheNew York Times. “This particular investment plan seems to involve the worst of every corrupt tendency of the Trump administration and Trump family.” Trump has been accused multiple times of unconstitutionally accepting foreign money; in January, a House committee found that he took $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments, including $5.5 million from China.
