NY DA 'idolized' by Donald Trump thought Jared Kushner was a 'nasty piece of work': author

20 March 2023

Democrat Robert Morgenthau, who was only ten days away from turning 100 when he passed away on July 21, 2019, spent many years as a prosecutor in New York City. After serving as a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1962-1970, Morgenthau was Manhattan district attorney from 1975-2009.

Former President Donald Trump praised Morgenthau after his death and "idolized" him when he was alive, according to Morgenthau biographer Andrew Meier. But Morgenthau had some negative things to say about Trump and his son-in-law, former White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner.

In an op-ed/essay published by the New York Times on March 20, Meier — author of the 2022 book "Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty" — explains, "Mr. Morgenthau and Mr. Trump were friends in much the same way that politicians and fixtures on the city's social circuit call one another friends. They did have a relationship, and it was transactional. They saw each other most often at award galas and benefit dinners."

Meier describes Trump and Morgenthau as "unlikely allies." But the author recalls, "One morning in the spring before his death, I asked Mr. Morgenthau what his greatest fear was, and he did not hesitate to answer: 'Trump.'"

Meier recalls Morgenthau's accounts of his dealings with Kushner — and the negative things he said about him.

"In 2012, Mr. Trump gave $100,000 to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, only after the DA complained that Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a new museum board member and the scion of Kushner Companies, the family real estate company, had failed to make good on a promised donation," Meier notes. "Mr. Morgenthau knew Mr. Kushner: He interned in the DA’s office in 2004, the summer his father was arrested on federal charges. 'Nasty piece of work,' the DA said of the younger Kushner: 'I had to kick him off the board.'"

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