Jared Kushner ally pardoned by Donald Trump gets charged again

Presidential pardons do not apply to charges or convictions handed down at the state level

Ken Kurson, the former editor-in-chief of the New York Observer and ally of Jared Kusher, has been charged by the state of New York on crimes related to cyberstalking. Mr Kurson was pardoned by Donald Trump for the alleged crimes. (screengrab)

An ally of Jared Kushner who received a pardon from Donald Trump in the former president's final days in office has once again been charged with a crime.

According to the New York Daily News, the former New York Observer editor-in-chief Ken Kurson has been charged by the state for the alleged cyberstalking scheme that prompted Mr Trump's pardon.

Mr Kurson ran the paper when Mr Kushner owned the publication.

"Kurson allegedly wrote negative online reviews of some of his victims using aliases and visited their places of work," the New York Daily News reports. "He also took photographs of two his victims' workplaces and inquired about one's work schedule, creeping out coworkers, prosecutors said."

Mr Kurson initially caught the attention of law enforcement after Mr Trump nominated him to serve on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities, where a required background check raised red flags for authorities.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office charged Mr Kurson, who arrived at the Manhattan Supreme Court for arraignment on Wednesday.

While Mr Trump's pardon shields Mr Kurson from federal charges relating to the scheme, presidential pardons cannot protect people from state charges.

The original cyberstalking incident involved two doctors who accused Mr Kurson of harassment. The criminal complaint against him alleges that he blamed one of the doctors "for the dissolution of his marriage."

The second doctor was a co-worker and a supervisor of the first victim, according to CNBC.

The complaint also claims that FBI agents uncovered evidence that Mr Kurson accessed the email and social media accounts of other victims without their knowledge and installed keystroke logging software on one person's computer.

Investigators also found that Mr Kurson called victims' employers and made false allegations about them, including that one had "improper contact with a minor."

The FBI also claimed that Mr Kurson made several false statements during a 2018 background check questionnaire, including falsely claiming he never used any other names or aliases. Lying on such questionnaires is a federal crime.

Mr Kurson was accused of lurking outside the victims' workplaces on multiple occasions, during which he is accused of taking photos of them and asking colleagues about their work schedules. His actions prompted the victims' employer to hire security guards to protect the staff.

Marc Mukasey, Mr Kurson's lawyer, initially dismissed the federal investigation into his client's actions.

"Ken Kurson is an honourable man, a loving dad, and a brilliant writer. This case is hardly the stuff of a federal criminal prosecution," he said. "He will get past it."