Fearful of spying, Guardian scraps move to Kushner’s Dumbo Heights complex: report

The Guardian’s U.S. office decided against moving to an office building in Brooklyn owned by Kushner Companies because journalists feared they could be spied on.

The company planned to move from a WeWork space in Manhattan to another in Dumbo Heights located in an office complex owned by Kushner, LIVWRK and RFR Realty, BuzzFeed reported. Though Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior advisor to President Trump, resigned as CEO of the company and divested interest in several of the company’s holdings, reporters were wary about how sources would react to the move.

Reporters were especially concerned that a whistleblower of the caliber of Edward Snowden might not feel safe revealing information to the Guardian in a building with ties to one of the president’s most trusted advisers, sources told Buzzfeed.

The Guardian now plans to move to another office in Midtown in May (with a source telling Buzzfeed that staffers weren’t enamored with the idea of commuting to Dumbo anyway). A spokesperson for the Guardian said the company reversed course after learning of Kushner’s connection to the Brooklyn building. [BuzzFeed] — Kathryn Brenzel