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Ken Kurson and Jared Kushner attend The New York Observer Celebrates Robert Kurson’s New Book PIRATE HUNTERS at The Rusty Knot on June 15, 2015 in New York City.
J. Grassi | Patrick McMullan | Getty Images
The Manhattan district attorney on Wednesday charged Ken Kurson, a friend and former associate of Jared Kushner, with crimes related to cyberstalking months after he received a pardon from then-President Donald Trump.
District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. charged Kurson, 52, with eavesdropping and criminal trespass, alleging he illegally accessed his then-wife’s communications in 2015 and 2016 while working as editor-in-chief of Observer Media Group.
Federal prosecutors hit Kurson with similar charges last year before Trump pardoned him in January on his way out of the White House. Kushner is Trump’s son-in-law and served as a senior advisor in the White House.
Presidential pardons do not apply to state or local charges.
“We will not accept presidential pardons as get-out-of-jail-free cards for the well-connected in New York,” Vance said in a statement. “As alleged in the complaint, Mr. Kurson launched a campaign of cybercrime, manipulation, and abuse from his perch at the New York Observer, and now the people of New York will hold him accountable.”
Marc Mukasey, who represented Kurson in the federal case, did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
Kurson ran The New York Observer while Kushner owned the newspaper.
Vance’s office alleges Kurson used spyware to obtain passwords and log into his then-wife’s Gmail and Facebook accounts. Prosecutors say he illegally acquired and anonymously shared private Facebook messages.
Last year, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn charged Kurson with stalking and harassing three people. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York focused on actions including false complaints filed to two of the victims’ employers and a false negative review about one of the victims posted on Yelp.
The Justice Department in July rejected a request by CNBC for the letter Kurson’s ex-wife wrote asking for the federal criminal case to be dismissed against him.
The White House cited that letter at the time that Trump pardoned Kurson.
While working as editor of the Observer, Kurson advised then-presidential candidate Trump on a speech he gave to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in 2016. He sat in the Trump family box at the Republican National Convention later that year.
Kurson more recently founded cryptocurrency and blockchain technology website Modern Consensus. He was on the board of cryptocurrency company Ripple as recently as last year.
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