Kushner group sues city, claiming anti-Trump bias
A broken contract for a New Jersey development project has sparked a lawsuit from Jared Kushner's family company, which claims they are victims of anti-Trump bias.
The Kushner Cos. filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday that claims Jersey City and its redevelopment agency "put politics over principle" when they broke their contract over the planned One Journal Square project, The Jersey Journal reports. Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's adviser and son-in-law, is the former CEO of Kushner Cos.
The twin-towers project would include more than 1,500 apartments and tower 56-stories above what the lawsuit calls a "blighted" section of the city. The lawsuit claims the city issued the developers a notice of default earlier this year because of alleged political bias linked to the role Jared Kushner plays in the Trump administration, rather than a failure to meet the terms of the redevelopment agreement.
"The notice of default was issued to appease and curry favor with the overwhelmingly anti-Trump constituents of Jersey City," the lawsuit alleges.
The Kushner Cos. previously threatened a lawsuit in April after the redevelopment agency said the developers were in default because they missed a deadline to begin construction on the project.
The city's Democratic Mayor Steven Fulop said in an email Wednesday that the lawsuit is "hearsay nonsense."
The lawsuit is seeking to stop the city from ending the project's contract.