Ken Kurson, a close ally of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was arrested today on charges of federal cyberstalking in relation to his divorce. 

Kurson, who also has close ties to Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, was taking into federal custody after sending threatening messages to various individuals, including one former friend whom he blamed for the destruction of his marriage, the New York Times reported.

FBI officials found evidence that Carson carried out similar types of behavior during a divorce in 2015. Back then, he reportedly used aliases to make false misconduct allegations with someone’s job and installed software on a person’s computer to monitor keystrokes.

Marc Mukasey, a lawyer representing Carson, defended him in a brief statement.

“Ken Kurson is an honorable man, a loving dad and a gifted writer,” Mukasey said. “The conduct alleged is hardly worthy of a federal criminal prosecution. Ken will get past it.”

Carson first popped up on the FBI’s radar during a routine background check after Trump’s administration nominated Kurson for a seat on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities back in 2018. It was during this routine background check that the FBI came upon the previous harassment claims against him.

Kurson was ultimately denied security clearance for the position after the FBI uncovered claims that he had harassed a Mount Sinai doctor in 2015. Kurson withdrew his nomination upon learning that he would not be able to secure the clearance. He released a statement at the time saying that he wished the doctor, who was a longtime friend of his and his ex-wife, “the best.”

“I wish her nothing but the best,” he said. “Of course when couples divorce, emotions run high. Thankfully everything worked out very well for my ex-wife and my kids, and I consider this chapter long-closed from three years ago.”

Kurson previously worked on Giuliani’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, and he helped write a speech for Trump’s 2016 campaign.