White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has been called out for omitting the considerable art collection he shares with wife Ivanka Trump from financial disclosure forms.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has been called out for omitting the considerable art collection he shares with wife Ivanka Trump from financial disclosure forms submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, according to a recent artnet News report.
The collection, considered to be worth millions, reportedly includes works by Nate Lowman, Dan Colen, and Louis Eisner; in fact, observers have pointed out that images of some of the pieces have been posted to Trump’s own Instagram account.
artnet News says that “Federal employees such as Kushner are required to disclose artwork if it is held for investment purposes and is worth more than $1,000, according to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE).”
An attorney advising Kushner indicated that the couple’s art does not fall under the guidelines, saying in a statement, “Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump display their art for decorative purposes and have made only a single sale.”
He added, “To avoid any doubt, however, they will report their art collection.”
Despite the explanation, critics have pointed out that the couple has engaged the services of an art consultant to advise them on pieces to buy.
Furthermore, according to the Huffington Post, "Trump herself described art as an investment in a 2015 article called 'How to Start Collecting Art,' published on her website. 'Think of art as an investment,' she advised readers, leaving little room to read between the lines."
The first daughter has also appeared to integrate the art into marketing her lifestyle brand.
The omission about their art collection adds to other times Kushner has not fully disclosed information about his holdings.
A Marketwatch report noted in May, "[Kushner] didn’t identify on his government financial disclosure form that he is currently a part-owner of a real-estate finance startup and has a number of loans from banks on properties he co-owns, according to securities filings."
However, Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, told the Wall Street Journal, "it is 'very normal' for a financial disclosure form to be revised."
