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President-elect Donald Trump<\/strong> tapped<\/a> his son-in-law Jared Kushner<\/strong>\u2019s dad, Charles Kushner<\/strong>, as the incoming ambassador to France on Saturday\u2014a key role in managing the fraught<\/a> relationship between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Kushner, an infamous figure in New Jersey<\/a>, is a wealthy real estate executive who was convicted and imprisoned in 2005 after pleading guilty to 16 federal counts of filing false tax returns, one count of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, and one count of retaliating against a cooperating witness and was later pardoned by Trump in the final days of his first term.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests,\u201d Trump wrote<\/a> on Truth Social, his social media site. \u201cTogether, we will strengthen America\u2019s partnership with France, our oldest Ally, & one of our greatest!\u201d<\/p>\n Kushner, 70, had a firm hold in real estate by the early 2000s before running into legal troubles and pleading guilty in 2004. As a part of his plea at the time, he admitted to targeting his brother-in-law, William Schulder<\/strong>, a former employee turned witness for federal prosecutors in their case against the elder Kushner. The plot included Kushner hiring a sex worker to lure Schulder into a motel room, have sex with him, and film it on a hidden camera. That tape would later be sent to Schulder\u2019s wife, Kushner\u2019s sister, as an intimidation stunt.<\/p>\n Alas, Kushner\u2019s scheme didn\u2019t end up working and he was sentenced to two years in prison, but was released earlier in 2006.<\/p>\n He found vindication, though, with Trump\u2019s pardon over a decade later.<\/p>\n Trump granted Kushner clemency \u201cas part of a wave of 26 pardons he issued with roughly a month left in his first term, along with other close associates including Paul Manafort<\/strong>, his 2016 campaign chairman, and Roger J. Stone Jr.<\/strong>, a longtime ally and informal adviser,\u201d the New York Times<\/em> reports<\/a> in their Saturday write-up of Trump\u2019s pick. Both Jared and Charles Kushner, according to reporting from the Times<\/em>, played a key role<\/a> in who Trump considered clemency for.<\/p>\n Prosecuting Kushner\u2019s initial case was no other than Chris Christie<\/strong>, the former New Jersey governor who was then a US attorney. Christie\u2014who has become<\/a> a vocal critic of Trump<\/a>\u2014recalled Kushner\u2019s misconduct as \u201cone of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted…and I was the U.S. attorney in New Jersey\u201d during a 2019 interview<\/a> with PBS.<\/p>\n