Marlins president says Loria 'honored' to be considered as France ambassador
Miami Marlins president David Samson confirmed Friday that team owner Jeffrey Loria is "honored" to be considered a leading candidate to become the United States ambassador to France, according to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.
In recent days, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus has been pushing for Loria to take over the title. The Marlins owner was said to be in deep negotiations with New York businessmen Joshua Kushner and Joseph Meyer to buy the team, but Samson confirmed that the Kushner's were no longer in the bidding for the franchise.
Joshua Kushner's brother, Jared, currently serves as President Donald Trump's senior advisor and is married to Trump's daughter, Ivanka. The connections don't stop there, as Loria also happens to be a well-known Trump supporter and donated $125,000 thousand to his campaign.
Related: Report: Loria being named U.S. ambassador to France may halt Marlins sale
After it was revealed that Loria was in consideration for ambassador to France, Kushner said in a statement that due to the conflict of interest, his group would no longer be pursuing the opportunity to purchase the Marlins.
Loria said he addressed team.But as Samson was confirming sale and Ambassador reports out front, Loria left in SUV parked in back.
— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) February 17, 2017
On Friday, Samson confirmed that "many groups" are showing interest in the team. When asked if the Kushner family were among the interested groups, Samson simply said "No," according to Heyman.
It was first reported that Loria had a handshake agreement to sell the Marlins for $1.6 billion, but it's unclear if that will remain the sale price of the franchise.