A friend and former associate of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was charged with cybercrimes on Wednesday by Manhattan’s district attorney for cyberstalking his ex-wife.
Kurson, 52, is a former editor at the New York Observer. He was also a speechwriter for Trump in 2015. And 2016. He was the editor-in chief of Observer Media Group. According to a criminal complaint, Kurson used spyware to track his ex-wife’s keystrokes. This allowed the Kushner confidante, to gain his wife’s passwords to her social media and email accounts.
These charges are the latest in a bizarre case that was opened in 2018. The FBI conducted a background check on Kurson in advance of his advisory position on the National Endowment for the Humanities board during the Trump administration. The FBI quickly discovered that Kurson was being accused of harassment by several people. Kurson also alleged that a Mount Sinai Hospital doctor had ruined his marriage, which ended in 2016. Former editors alleged that Kurson’s actions were “diabolical.”
After years of litigation, Kurson was charged with cyberstalking and harassment of three individuals in October last year. He was then pardoned by Trump. Trump’s final days as president saw Kurson among the high-profile people pardoned and vacated. Trump intervened amid reports that Kurson was negotiating with federal prosecutors to plead guilty. Some suspect Kurson may have evaded legal consequences.
However, Cyrus Vance, Manhattan District Attorney, recently stated that Trump’s pardon would not be effective in the most recent proceeding.
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“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 by the complaint, Mr. Kurson launched a campaign for cybercrime and manipulation from his perch at The New York Observer. Now, the people of New York will hold him responsible.”
The latest complaint reveals that Person’s improprieties are not a one-off affair. They involve a pattern of installing software on one person’s computer to monitor keystrokes and website use without their knowledge or authorization.