Guiliani associate, Kushner friend arrested on stalking, harassment charges

WABC logo
Friday, October 23, 2020
Then-New York Observer publisher Jared Kushner, center; CEO Joseph Meyer, left' and editor Ken Kurson attend The New York Observer's 25th anniversary party in 2013
wabc-Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

BROOKLYN, New York City (WABC) -- Ken Kurson, a friend of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and a longtime Rudy Giuliani associate, was arrested in Brooklyn Friday for allegedly stalking and harassing three people in 2015 in connection with his ongoing divorce.

Two of the alleged victims are doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital.

"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 at the time. "We also took measures to protect our staff and the alleged harassment ceased shortly thereafter. We are cooperating with the FBI on their current background check of Mr. Kurson."

One Mount Sinai doctor reported negative reviews about her on websites such as Yelp and RateMDs.com

Another person allegedly targeted by Kurson was a friend that he blamed for the deterioration of his marriage.

Kushner previously hired Kurson to be editor of his then weekly newspaper, the New York Observer.

Kurson was previously a speech writer for Giuliani and spent years at Giuliani's consulting firm and helped run his short-lived 2008 presidential campaign.

The criminal investigation of Kurson began after the administration offered him a seat in 2018 on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which required a routine background check, resulting in FBI agents discovering the harassment allegations.

Kurson withdrew from consideration for the post shortly afterward

"Ken Kurson is an honorable man, a loving dad, and a brilliant writer," his attorney Marc Mukasey said in a statement to ABC News. "This case is hardly the stuff of a federal criminal al prosecution. He will get past it."

----------

* Get Eyewitness News Delivered

* More New York City news

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

* Follow us on YouTube

Submit a News Tip