Kushner ally lost out on administration job after background check: report

A top ally of senior White House adviser Jared Kushner and President Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was unable to secure a security clearance for a prestigious position in the Trump administration.

The New York Times reports that Ken Kurson, a former Trump speechwriter who has been a confidant of Kushner for years, was unable to secure a clearance for a seat on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities due to allegations that he harassed a Mount Sinai doctor in 2015.

Kurson told the Times that he withdrew his nomination in June over his inability to secure the clearance. His lawyer separately confirmed to the newspaper that both Kurson and the doctor were questioned about the alleged harassment.

Mount Sinai Hospital told the Times that it was forced to devote resources to stop Kurson from contacting its employee.

“In November 2015, Mount Sinai began an investigation into allegations of harassment made by two of our doctors against Ken Kurson,” the hospital said in a statement. “We also took measures to protect our staff and the alleged harassment ceased shortly thereafter. We are cooperating with the F.B.I. on their current background check of Mr. Kurson.”

Kurson told the Times in a statement that he wished the doctor, a longtime friend of his and his ex-wife, “the best.”

“I wish her nothing but the best,” he said. “Of course when couples divorce, emotions run high. Thankfully everything worked out very well for my ex-wife and my kids, and I consider this chapter long closed from three years ago.”

Kurson’s lawyer, meanwhile, called the FBI’s questions “innocuous,” despite his client’s inability to obtain the security clearance.

“That is a completely different ball of wax from a criminal investigation,” Marc Mukasey said in a statement to the Times. “This was totally innocuous.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill on the report. The board of the National Endowment for the Humanities consists of 26 people largely selected from areas of academia, museums, libraries and other cultural institutions.