Welcome to the Investigation. I'm Kira Phillips here along with my co-host and the head of our investigation team, Chris Vlasto.

We're also joined by our senior investigative producer, Matt Mosque.

And on today's episode, we're going to be talking with New York Times bestselling author and investigative reporter Vicki Ward.

Her latest work, Cushner, Inc. Greed, Ambition, Corruption.

The extraordinary story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump hits the shelves today from St. Martin's Press.

Vicki, great to have you with us.

Thank you, Kara.

So why did you want to write this book?

So I think that the book's main theme, really, is about two people who we all hoped at the outset

of this administration would be the sort of moral center of it, would be moderating influences

on a president known for his extreme character and extreme policies. And I think that there

were signs right at the beginning that perhaps they weren't what they seemed. I set out to sort of

to see whether Washington would change them.

And the answer, I think, is that, you know, the White House is very much now run kind of like a New York family business.

I mean, your description of them is not flattering. They are not going to like this book, right?

No, I think that's true, but I think you have to remember that the book is a result of two years

investigation.

220 different people were interviewed, 118 of them multiple times.

You know, I do stress it's a really investigative work, is that these are

two people who are products of their upbringing. You know, Jared Kushner is someone who was, you know,

when he worked for his father in the Kushner family business, a somewhat

imperious delegator, not a detail-oriented person. And that doesn't matter when you work

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