Plain and simple: Jared and Ivanka Kushner are a menace. ( )

Grifters in the White House

Well, the title pretty much says it all, and journalist Vicky Ward backs it all up in a book that exposes the American royal couple for whom they really are. As famous writer of the underbelly of American life called it: The Grifters. Ward packs a lot into this compact volume, sourcing her narrative with personal interviews and statements of record. She reminds us of stuff we’ve forgotten, understandable when dealing with people and an administration that churns out more dross in a day than most highly visible people do in a year, or maybe even a lifetime.

Ward adds expansive flesh to many critical stories about the couple, and particularly Jared’s out-of-sight dealings. For instance, Ward details extensively Jared’s and his father Charlie Kushner’s behind the scenes maneuvers to refinance their New York City trophy building, 666 Fifth Avenue. Questionable dealings involved salvation from Deutsche Bank and big money Middle Eastern investors, especially Qatar. The linkage here to the blockage of Qatar is quite disturbing and the very essence of why government officials must divest themselves of all business holdings and any involvement in their businesses, the standard practice before Trump and his family arrived in Washington. The suspicion is strong that Jared had a hand in the blockage because the Qataris turned him and his father down on 666. This action seriously disrupted interrelations in this volatile part of the world and continues to this day. Jared also worked to bollox American diplomacy by engineering the weakening and dismissal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. (Remember him? It was just last year that Trump canned him.) It’s a sorry story, indeed.

As for Ivanka, whose efforts to insert herself into meetings here and abroad have become the brunt of jokes, has proven herself ineffectual both in moderating her father’s worst traits and instincts and in gaining support for her political agenda centered on women and families. She has been very effective, however, in pursuing her own personal business interests, the most visible of which is her accumulation of Chinese trademarks. Of the two, though, Jared has proven the most dangerous to U.S. international relations.

Ward does a good job of helping us understand why Jared and Ivanka are not only self-absorbed and completely out of touch with average American life and issues, but also why they breeze through life as if rules don’t exist, and if they might, certainly don’t apply to them. This is because of their families, how they operate, and how they inculcated the children with the chutzpah to disregard all the norms of government and society. Most don’t know much about Charlies Kushner. He is a convicted felon, very crafty, and known not only for gaming the system but for being abusive to associates and family.

Today, Trump and his associates has made it de rigueur to attack, discredit, and otherwise demonize journalists, so a little about Vicky Ward. Ward was educated at Cambridge. She’s written and edited for the likes of Vanity Fair, CNN, The New York Post, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Sunday Times, and many others. She’s also the author of two other investigative books, one about the implosion of Lehman and the other about a devastating big time real estate deal, The Devil’s Casino and The Liar’s Ball, respectively. In other words, she’s seasoned, credible, and to be believed. ( )

Grifters in the White House

Well, the title pretty much says it all, and journalist Vicky Ward backs it all up in a book that exposes the American royal couple for whom they really are. As famous writer of the underbelly of American life called it: The Grifters. Ward packs a lot into this compact volume, sourcing her narrative with personal interviews and statements of record. She reminds us of stuff we’ve forgotten, understandable when dealing with people and an administration that churns out more dross in a day than most highly visible people do in a year, or maybe even a lifetime.

Ward adds expansive flesh to many critical stories about the couple, and particularly Jared’s out-of-sight dealings. For instance, Ward details extensively Jared’s and his father Charlie Kushner’s behind the scenes maneuvers to refinance their New York City trophy building, 666 Fifth Avenue. Questionable dealings involved salvation from Deutsche Bank and big money Middle Eastern investors, especially Qatar. The linkage here to the blockage of Qatar is quite disturbing and the very essence of why government officials must divest themselves of all business holdings and any involvement in their businesses, the standard practice before Trump and his family arrived in Washington. The suspicion is strong that Jared had a hand in the blockage because the Qataris turned him and his father down on 666. This action seriously disrupted interrelations in this volatile part of the world and continues to this day. Jared also worked to bollox American diplomacy by engineering the weakening and dismissal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. (Remember him? It was just last year that Trump canned him.) It’s a sorry story, indeed.

As for Ivanka, whose efforts to insert herself into meetings here and abroad have become the brunt of jokes, has proven herself ineffectual both in moderating her father’s worst traits and instincts and in gaining support for her political agenda centered on women and families. She has been very effective, however, in pursuing her own personal business interests, the most visible of which is her accumulation of Chinese trademarks. Of the two, though, Jared has proven the most dangerous to U.S. international relations.

Ward does a good job of helping us understand why Jared and Ivanka are not only self-absorbed and completely out of touch with average American life and issues, but also why they breeze through life as if rules don’t exist, and if they might, certainly don’t apply to them. This is because of their families, how they operate, and how they inculcated the children with the chutzpah to disregard all the norms of government and society. Most don’t know much about Charlies Kushner. He is a convicted felon, very crafty, and known not only for gaming the system but for being abusive to associates and family.

Today, Trump and his associates has made it de rigueur to attack, discredit, and otherwise demonize journalists, so a little about Vicky Ward. Ward was educated at Cambridge. She’s written and edited for the likes of Vanity Fair, CNN, The New York Post, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Sunday Times, and many others. She’s also the author of two other investigative books, one about the implosion of Lehman and the other about a devastating big time real estate deal, The Devil’s Casino and The Liar’s Ball, respectively. In other words, she’s seasoned, credible, and to be believed. ( )

Lots of credible gossip with a few glaring mistakes.

Ward's bias and social status are clear, so it's easy to understand how she made some very basic mistakes about the right wing. Like most in the "journalist class" on the left, her sources wouldn't have a basic understanding of the how the digital part of the 2016 campaign took place. She also treats Obama like his word is that of a benevolent demi-god. LOL no.

However, I found it easy to believe what she had to say about Javanka. I've seen their class and social status (lived in the Hamptons) up close and yeah, that's how they operate. Jared's father is just sleazy AF. Trump has always behaved solidly as nouveau riche, with his hands in many things and a silver spoon up his nethers. So, yeah, most of it was believable.

Oddly, she gives most of Trump's staff a fair shake, some of which (IMO) is deserved, some, not so much. ( )

The title of this book says it all. Jared Kushner & Ivanka Trump = ignorance and arrogance. Trump's mantra of "drain the swamp" could start with these two. Well written and well researched, if the author hadn't had a press deadline, I'm sure this book could have gone on forever. ( )