Hunter Biden & Jared Kushner: Similarities and Differences
More Info Coming Soon
Hunter Biden
Jared Kushner
Robert Hunter Biden
– DOB February 4, 1970
– Born Robert Hunter Biden
– Youngest son of Joe and Neilia (Hunter) Biden, who had two boys (Beau and Hunter) and a girl (Naomi) together. After her death, Joe Biden married Jill Tracy Jacobs and they had a daughter, Joe’s fourth child, Ashley.
– Married twice, Kathleen Buhle (married 1993-2017); Melissa Cohen (married 2019).
– Father to five children by three women. Three children by first wife Kathleen Buhle (Naomi, Finnegan, Maisy). One son by second wife Melissa Cohen (Beau Biden Jr.). One daughter by Lunden Roberts (Navy).
Jared Corey Kushner
– DOB January 10, 1981
– Born Jared Corey Kushner
– Oldest of four children (Joshua, Nicole, and Dara) by Charles and Seryl (Stadtmauer) Kushner.
– Married Ivanka Trump 10/25/2009.
– Father of three children by Ivanka Trump (Arabella, Joseph, and Theodore).
Education:
– 6/5/1996 – Yale Law School, Juris Doctor
– 1992 – Georgetown University*
Sources: Image from Public Services Staff, Manuscripts and Archives, Beinecke Library on 4/16/2024, in “Bulletin of Yale University,” Series 92, Number 9, 8/20/1996; * Email response about graduation date from Georgetown, Office of the University Registrar, on 10/18/2023, “Unfortunately, we do not release any information without written consent from the student in question.”
Education:
– 5/10/2007 – NYU Juris Doctor in Law, Master of Business Administration under a dual-degree program
– 2003 – Harvard – Government
Sources: NYU, email response from NYU Managing Director of Public Affairs, 10/30/2023; Harvard year of graduation and major confirmed by email response from Harvard University Media Relations, 10/18/2023
Position in the White House:
– 2021-2023 – No position – Son of President Joe Biden (1/20/2021-current as of 9/12/2023)
– 2009 – 2017 – No position – Son of US Vice President Joe Biden (1/20/2009 to 1/20/2017)
Sources: “Joe Biden,” britannica.com, 9/12/2023
Position in the White House:
– 2017-2021 – Senior Advisor (1/9/2017 to 1/20/2021) to President Trump, his father-in-law (since 2009)
Sources: “Jared Kushner,” thefamouspeople.com, accessed 9/12/2023; “Jared Kushner meets Erdogan,” synergiafoundation.org, 3/1/2019
Occupations/Positions:
– Current – Artist/painter
– Ability to practice law in Connecticut, admission date 4/25/1997, under “administrative suspension” 3/16/2021, 11/30/2021, 6/14/2022, 10/3/2023 and 11/21/2023 with no reinstated date as of 12/21/2023. Link to PDF
– 2014 – Board
Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company
– 2013 – Co-founder
BHR, a Shanghai-based investment company
– 2001 – Partner
Oldaker, Biden & Belair
[Coming Soon]
Occupations/Positions:
– Current – Affinity Partners
– 2014 to 2-2020 – Co-Founder
CADRE, real estate tech start-up
– 2008-2017 – CEO
Kushner Companies
– 2006-2017 – Owner/Publisher
The New York Observer
[Coming Soon]
Personal Issues:
– Self-identified addiction to crack and alcohol.
– 2023 – Hunter Biden settles child-support dispute with Lunden Roberts over daughter Navy, 4.
– 2017 – Divorce to first wife Kathleen Buhle; married since 1993. Around this time he had a relationship with his brother Beau’s widow Hallie that lasted for about two years.
– 2015 – Lost brother Beau to brain cancer.
– 2014 – Discharged from Navy after failed drug test.
– 1972 – As a child, Hunter BIden was a passenger in a car crash that killed his mother and 13-month-old sister.
Sources: “Kathleen Buhle, Hunter Biden’s Ex, to Address Their Divorce in Book: ‘I Lost My Sense of Who I Was’,” people.com, 1/12/2022; “AP: VP’s son, Hunter Biden, discharged from Navy Reserve after drug test,” jacksonville.com, 10/17/2014; “Hunter Biden Settles Child-Support Case,” nytimes.com, 6/29/2023; “Biden marks 50th anniversary of death of wife, daughter,” apnews.com, 12/18/2022; “Hunter Biden urged brother’s widow to get tested for HIV during their affair,” nypost.com, 4/25/2022; “Hunter Biden Explains His Past Relationship With Brother Beau’s Widow Hallie,” eonline.com, 4/5/2021
Personal Issues:
– 2019 – In his memoir, Jared Kushner wrote that he had surgery for thyroid cancer after being diagnosed in October 2019, while serving in the White House.
– 2006 – ProPublica editor Daniel Golden wrote a book in which he alleges Jared Kushner’s father pledged $2.5 million to Harvard University prior to Jared’s acceptance; Kushner Companies spokesperson says allegation the gift was related to son’s acceptance is false.
– 2005 – While his father Charles Kushner was serving a year in prison for 18 counts of tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering, Jared took over his father’s duties at Kushner Companies. President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner’s father-in-law, pardoned Charles Kushner on 12/23/2020.
– Kushner’s grandparents, Holocaust survivors.
Sources: “In new book, Kushner says he was treated for thyroid cancer while serving in White House,” ny1.com, 7/26/2022; “The life of Jared Kushner,” businessinsider.com, 8/22/2022; “The Story Behind Jared Kushner’s Curious Acceptance Into Harvard,” propublica.org, 11/18/2016; “Jared Kushner’s ‘Breaking History’ Is a Soulless and Very Selective Memoir,” nytimes.com, 6/21/2023; “Kushner pardon revives ‘loathsome’ tale of tax evasion, sex,” apnews.com, 12/23/2020
Recent Legal Issues:
Tax Charges
– 2023 – On 12/7/2023, Hunter Biden was indicted on nine tax-related charges, including three felony counts (26 U.S.C. § 7201: evasion of assessment; 26 U.S.C. § 7203: failure to file and pay taxes; 26 U.S.C. § 7206: false or fraudulent tax return). In the same month, Hunter refused to testify in a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability deposition.
“According to the [DOJ.gov] indictment, Hunter Biden engaged in a four-year scheme in which he chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019 and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns.”
Federal Firearms Charges
– 2023 – On 9/14/2023, Hunter Biden was indicted in the US District Court for the District of Delaware on three counts of federal firearms charges for allegedly lying on a form about drug use.
Special Counsel Probe
– 2023 – On 8/11/2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland, picked by Joe Biden, appointed a special counsel in Hunter Biden probe.
Not Guilty Plea in Tax Charges
– 2023 – On 7/26/2023, Hunter Biden plead not guilty to tax charges after plea deal falls through.
Tax & Gun Charges
– 2023 – On 6/20/2023, US Attorney, District of Delaware, charged Hunter Biden with two violations of failure to pay income tax and one violation of unlawful possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. David C. Weiss, US Attorney for the District of Delaware, a Trump appointee, made the announcement. “Hunter Biden received taxable income in excess of $1,500,000 annually in calendar years 2017 and 2018. Despite owing in excess of $100,000 in federal income taxes each year, he did not pay the income tax due for either year,” according to District of Delaware US Attorney’s Office.
Sources: “A look at the latest federal charges filed against Hunter Biden,” pbs.org, 12/8/2023; “Comer & Jordan Statement on Hunter Biden Failing to Appear for Deposition,” house.gov, 12/13/2023; “WATCH: Attorney General Garland to appoint a special counsel in Hunter Biden probe,” pbs.org, 8/11/2023; “Biden selects Judge Merrick Garland for attorney general,” reuters.com, 1/6/2021; “Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to 2 tax crimes after agreement with prosecutors falls through,” pbs.org, 7/26/2023; “Tax and Firearm Charges Filed Against Robert Hunter Biden,” justice.gov, 6/20/2023; “Tax and Firearm Charges Filed Against Robert Hunter Biden,” justice.gov, 6/20/2023
Recent Legal Issues:
Apartment Lawsuit Payout– 2022 – “An apartment management company partly owned by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald J. Trump, has agreed to pay a $3.25 million penalty and make restitution to thousands of tenants who were overcharged fees and subject to leaks, rodents and mold infestations, the Maryland attorney general said on Friday,” according to a 9/23/2022 nytimes.com article.
House Committee Investigation– 2022 – On 6/2/2022, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, led by Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), launches investigation into $2 billion investment by Saudi government into a firm, Affinity, formed by Jared Kushner after he left the White House.
Senate Committee Investigation– 2020 – On 12/9/2020, the Senate Committee on Finance launches an investigation of Jared Kushner and if conflicts of interest influenced US foreign policy. The investigation is led by Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, (D-OR), and House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Joaquin Castro, (D-TX).
Sources: “Kushner’s Company Reaches $3.25 Million Settlement in Maryland Lawsuit,” nytimes.com, 9/23/2022–“House Oversight investigating $2B Saudi investment in Jared Kushner’s firm,” nbcnews.com, 6/3/2022; “Wyden, Castro Launch Investigation Into Kushner Conflicts of Interest, Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy,” finance.senate.gov, 12/9/2020
Profiting While Close to Political Power:
– 2023 – House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Majority Staff Memorandums on Hunter Bank Records
Three bank record memorandums from the website page of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, chaired by Rep. James Comer (R-KY), “The Bidens’ Influence Peddling Timeline”
– 2/27/2023 – First: “Rep. [Jamie] Raskin [D-MD] omitted material facts that Robinson Walker, LLC received a $3 million wire from a Chinese company in March 2017—less than two months after Vice President Joe Biden left public office … These records prove the Biden family used at least three family members—Hallie Biden, James Biden, and Hunter Biden—and various companies to receive the lucrative payments from Robinson Walker, LLC, including Owasco PC …”
– 5/10/2023 – Second: “Prior to the wire from State Energy HK, Rob Walker, James Gilliar, Hunter Biden, and Hallie Biden received payments from a Romanian source, and many of the payments were made while Joe Biden was Vice President and working directly on the United States’ official policy in Romania.”
– 8/9/2023 – Third: “In Spring 2014, a Ukrainian Oligarch Placed Archer and Biden on the Burisma Board of Directors and Agreed to Pay them $1 Million Each per Year …”
– 9/6/2023 – Republican Oversight and Accountability Chairman Alleges Joe Biden Never Built ‘Absolute Wall’ Between Gov’t Position, Son’s Business
“… House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) … ‘Joe Biden never built an ‘absolute wall’ between his family’s business dealings and his official government work – his office doors were wide open to Hunter Biden’s associates. …'”
Source: “Comer Probes VP Biden’s Staff Collusion with Hunter’s Business Partner on Burisma Corruption Media Response,” oversight.house.gov, 9/6/2023
– 7/31/2023 – Burisma & The Biden “Brand” – Excerpts from Testimony by Hunter Biden’s Business Partner Devon Archer
Devon Archer 7/31/2023 House Committee on Oversight and Accountability testimony excerpts:
“… Mr. Archer. The value was — the value that Hunter Biden brought to it was having — you know, there was — the theoretical was corporate governance, but obviously, given the brand, that was a large part of the value. I don’t think it was the sole value, but I do think that was a key component of the value.
Mr. Mandolfo. You keep saying ‘the brand,’ but by ‘brand’ you mean the Biden family, correct?
Mr. Archer. Correct. …
Mr. Biggs. When you say ‘Biden family’ — sorry to cut in here. I just want to get a clarification. You aren’t talking about Dr. Jill or anybody else. You’re talking about Joe Biden. Is that fair to say?
Mr. Archer. Yeah, that’s fair to say. …”
“… Q But he did not provide the Burisma executives with actual access to his father. The access to his father was an illusion of access to his father. Is that right?
A Right. An illusion of access to his father, other than social — you know, socials. …”
At the session were Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
– 6/22/2023 – IRS Whistleblower Testimony Released by Ways and Means Committee Led by Republican Representative
A House Ways and Means Committee meeting, of which Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO-08) is chairman, resulted in the release of whistleblower testimony of two different IRS employees who worked directly on the tax evasion case of Hunter Biden.
– 6/19/2023 – Whistleblower #2 redacted supplemental submission
– 6/12/2023 – Gary Shapley signed statement – Whistleblower #2 redacted transcript
– 6/1/2023 – Whistleblower #1 redacted affidavit
– 5/26/2023 – Gary A. Shapley – Whistleblower #1 redacted transcript
Source: “Smith: Testimony of IRS Employees Reveals Biden IRS, DOJ Interfered in Tax Investigation of Hunter Biden, Revealing Preferential Treatment for Wealthy and Politically Connected,” gop-waysandmeans.house.gov, 6/22/2023
– 4/6/2021 – BBC Interview with Hunter Biden – Burisma Had Seen His Name “As Gold”
“Hunter joined Burisma in 2014, and remained on the board until April 2019, when he decided to leave. Speaking to the BBC, he said Burisma had seen his name ‘as gold’ and that it had played a large part in his appointment to the board,” according to the 4/6/2021 bbc.com article “Hunter Biden: What was he doing in China and Ukraine?”
Profiting While Close to Political Power:
– 2/15/2023 – Democratic Oversight and Accountability Committee Rep Reiterating Request for Affinity Records from Jared Kushner
On 2/15/2023, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, sent a letter to Jared Kushner: “Specifically, I am writing because you may have acted to benefit your personal financial and business interests to the tune of billions of dollars from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shortly after leaving government office and also because of your ongoing failure to cooperate with the Committee’s continuing investigation into this matter.”
– 2/11/2023 – WashingtonPost.com article, “After helping prince’s rise, Trump and Kushner benefit from Saudi funds”
“The day after leaving the White House, Kushner created a company that he transformed months later into a private equity firm with $2 billion from a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. … The substantial investments by the Saudis in enterprises that benefited both men came after they cultivated close ties with Mohammed while Trump was in office — helping the crown prince’s standing by scheduling Trump’s first presidential trip to Saudi Arabia, backing him amid numerous international crises and meeting with him repeatedly in D.C. and the kingdom, including on a final trip Kushner took to Saudi Arabia on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. New details about their relationship have emerged in recently published memoirs, as well as accounts in congressional testimony and interviews by The Post with former senior White House officials. Those revelations include Kushner’s written account of persuading Trump to prioritize Saudi Arabia over the objections of top advisers and a former secretary of state’s assertion in a book that Trump believed the prince ‘owed’ him. … In March 2022, the Kushner-run company filed an investment adviser registration document called Form ADV with the SEC that requires only a vague report on where its money came from. Kushner’s company declared that $2.51 billion out of its total $2.54 billion in assets under management came from ‘non-United States persons.’ …
Chad Mizelle, an adviser to Kushner’s company, said in a statement to The Post that ‘Affinity Partners’ Form ADV, like numerous other private equity firms, correctly states that it has pooled investment vehicles as clients.’”
Source: Michael Kranish, “After helping prince’s rise, Trump and Kushner benefit from Saudi funds,” washingtonpost.com, 2/11/2023
– 12/6/2022 – Democratic Senate and House Committee Leaders Send Letters to US State and Defense Departments on 666 Fifth Avenue & 99-Year Lease
[Jared Kushner was involved with the 666 Fifth Ave. property on and off since 2006. Click here to see our report on the background of 666 Fifth Ave.]
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chair Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) sent letters to the US State and Defense Departments related to Jared Kushner’s role in foreign policy while Kushner Companies was seeking bailout from foreign governments that may have wanted to influence the Trump administration.
On the Senate Finance Committee page dated 12/7/2022: “In August 2018, Brookfield Asset Management paid Kushner Companies $1.1 billion using funding from a subsidiary backed by the Government of Qatar to sign a 99-year lease on the Kushners’ 666 Fifth Avenue property. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund was the second largest investor in Brookfield Property Partners—the entity used to acquire the property. New documents obtained by the Committees show that Charles Kushner, Mr. Kushner’s father, engaged in discussions to bail out the property with Brookfield on February 14, 2018—months earlier than previously known and shortly before the Trump administration announced its support for ending the Saudi Arabian–Emirati blockade against Qatar.”
Source: “Senate Finance and House Oversight Committees Seek Documents from State and Defense Departments On Kushner’s Conflicts of Interest, Improper Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy,” finance.senate.gov, 12/7/2022
– 10/13/2022 – Democratic Senate Finance Committee Letter to Brookfield on its Refusal to Provide Information on 666 Fifth Avenue 99-Year Lease
In a 10/13/2022 letter to Brookfield, the company that took out a 99-year lease on the Kushner Companies’ 666 Fifth Avenue property, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote: “… As you are aware, the Committee is investigating whether former Senior White House Adviser Jared Kushner’s financial conflicts of interest influenced U.S. policy in the Middle East. In particular, the Committee’s investigation seeks to uncover the full extent to which Brookfield was aware that a fund co-owned by the Government of Qatar would be used to carry out a $1.2 billion bailout of a struggling Kushner property.”
– 6/2/2022 – Letter to Jared Kushner from Democratic Committee on Oversight and Reform Chair Informing They Are “Investigating” Whether He “Improperly Traded” on His Government Position
In a 6/2/2022 letter, to Jared Kushner, Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Chairwoman, Committee on Oversight and Reform wrote: “… For four years, you led the Trump Administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East, despite lacking any meaningful diplomatic experience, and despite significant conflicts of interest stemming from your family’s lucrative business dealings in the region. … The Committee on Oversight and Reform is investigating whether you have improperly traded on your government position to obtain billions of dollars from the Saudi government and whether your personal financial interests improperly influenced U.S. foreign policy during the administration of your father-in-law, former President Trump. …”
2021 – Investigation of Financial Disclosures Shows Jared and Ivanka Trump Reported between $172M & $640M While in White House
“Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump reported between $172 million and $640 million in outside income while working in the White House, according to an analysis of financial disclosures by CREW. It is impossible to tell the exact amount as the income is sometimes reported in broad ranges and cover four months of income before Ivanka Trump officially joined her father’s administration and nearly one month before Jared Kushner joined,” according to an investigation by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington published 2/8/2021.
Source: “Jared and Ivanka made up to $640 million in the White House,” citizensforethics.org, 2/8/2021
– 2018 – White House Filing Disclosures for Jared and Ivanka Kushner Show 2018 Assets Around $181M, $140M in 2017
“Disclosures issued by the White House for Kushner and his wife, Trump’s daughter Ivanka, showed that Kushner held assets totaling at least $181 million. His previous disclosure filed in April 2017 had showed assets in at least the $140 million range.”
Source: “New disclosure shows growing Kushner wealth, debt,” apnews.com, 6/11/2018