Washington Monthly editor: Parents ‘routinely’ use wealth to get children into college

“Washington Monthly” editor-in-chief Paul Glastris told “What America’s Thinking” on Friday that the recent college admissions bribery scandal is ironic because parents can legally use their wealth to get their children into universities.

“Let’s be aware that there are perfectly legal ways of bribing your kids [into college],” Glastris, whose publication releases an annual list of college rankings, told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons.

Glastris pointed to wealthy parents of certain students, mentioning President Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner, whose admission into Harvard University has drawn renewed interest following the recent college admissions bribery investigation.

“Jared Kushner got into Harvard on the heels of a $2.5 million gift from his father to the school,” Glastris said. “This happens pretty routinely. … We have legacy admissions, and so forth.”

Kushner Companies spokeswoman Risa Heller said it was “false” that Kushner’s admission was linked to his father’s donation, adding his parents “are enormously generous” and have donated more than $100 million “to universities, hospitals and other charitable causes.”

ProPublica’s Daniel Golden first reported in 2016 that Kushner’s father, Charles, had made the legal donation shortly before his son was admitted into the Ivy League school.

Fifty people, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, were charged earlier this month with being a part of what federal prosecutors have dubbed the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.”

The scam involved bribing coaches to recruit students for athletic programs and cheating on college entrance exams.