A post here at the beginning of the week looked at a recent example of fake news, an article reporting on the dismissal of a federal lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee stemming from the 2016 primary election. In the fake news version, quotes from the judge’s order were characterized as something they definitely were not. [See “Here’s how fake news works“]

What I didn’t know is that the publication where this fake news appeared–The New York Observer, an online newspaper that discontinued its print edition late last year–was purchased by Jared Kushner for $10 million in 2006, reportedly as part of a graduation present from his father.

Kushner stepped down as publisher of the Observer in January after becoming a top advisor to his father-in-law, Donald Trump.

At that time, Kushner transferred the Observer to a Trump family trust, a move which some ethics experts worried was not sufficient to eliminate potential conflicts.

But that’s just an aside to the plug I want to give to a detailed investigative story by David Kocieniewski and Caleb Melby which was published on Bloomberg.com this week (“Kushners’ China Deal Flop Was Part of Much Bigger Hunt for Cash“). It is a long and detailed look at the shaky financial status of Kushner’s real estate empire, and provides additional context to Trump entanglement with Russian interests.

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser, wakes up each morning to a growing problem that will not go away. His family’s real estate business, Kushner Cos., owes hundreds of millions of dollars on a 41-story office building on Fifth Avenue. It has failed to secure foreign investors, despite an extensive search, and its resources are more limited than generally understood. As a result, the company faces significant challenges.

Over the past two years, executives and family members have sought substantial overseas investment from previously undisclosed places: South Korea’s sovereign-wealth fund, France’s richest man, Israeli banks and insurance companies, and exploratory talks with a Saudi developer, according to former and current executives. These were in addition to previously reported attempts to raise money in China and Qatar.

And that search for significant new investors has failed, according to this review.

It’s a fascinating read. Don’t miss it.