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The vast payment to Kushner's company certainly has the appearance of a reward, John Pelissero, an expert on government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, told Insider.

"What is troubling here is that it involves a former top White House official who happens to be the son-in-law of the former president," said Pelissero.

"Trust is an important ethical virtue, and trust in the government can be eroded if the public believes that those who serve in government have used their positions to obtain personal benefits when they leave government service."

John Pelissero, senior scholar, government ethics, quoted by Business Insider.