Maryland Democrats seek Republican help to examine Jared Kushner's company's apartments

Congressional Democrats from Maryland are seeking help from Republican lawmakers in trying to obtain records they requested two months ago from Jared Kushner’s real estate company to assess its rental practices at apartment complexes in the Baltimore region.

In a letter Friday, Democratic Rep. Elijah E. Cummings asked his Republican colleagues on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to join him “in sending a bipartisan letter to the Kushner Companies” requesting the records and the meeting the Maryland Democrats originally asked for on Aug. 18.

Cummings is seeking the information to help examine reports by The Baltimore Sun, ProPublica and the New York Times that examined the practices of Kushner Cos.’ 17 apartment complexes in Maryland. Three of the apartment complexes have received $6.1 million in federal rental subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to federal records obtained by The Sun.

Cummings and other Democrats have been seeking records and a briefing with company officials to help them determine if the New York-based firm had “failed to maintain rental units throughout the Baltimore region in compliance with the quality standards established by HUD for properties that participate in federal subsidy programs, such as the Section 8 rental assistance program,” according to the letter Cummings sent Oct. 20 to Rep. Trey Gowdy, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-cummings-kushner-20171023-story.html