Wyden and Raskin have called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Jared Kushner, a former senior White House adviser to Donald Trump, for potentially acting as an unregistered foreign agent. The lawmakers allege that Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners, received over $150 million from foreign clients after Trump’s term ended, with no return on investment. They claim that $87 million of these payments came from the Saudi government, and that the company has only invested a small fraction of the funds received from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, they cite a report alleging that Kushner discussed U.S.-Saudi diplomatic negotiations involving Israel with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince after leaving the Trump administration.
Kushner has denied any conflict of interest, stating that during Trump’s time in office, every decision was made in the best interest of America. He criticized Wyden and Raskin, calling their letter to the Attorney General a “silly political stunt” and stating that they should focus on positively impacting people’s lives. Kushner’s involvement in U.S. foreign policy and his business dealings with foreign governments, including advising bin Salman on U.S. foreign policy and arranging meetings with the Qatari prime minister, have raised concerns about his potential role as an unregistered foreign agent. Democrats have tried to investigate a $2 billion investment in Kushner’s firm earlier this year, but a subpoena was delayed by Republicans.
Wyden has been investigating Kushner’s business deals with foreign governments for years, alleging that he is masquerading as an investment manager but may actually be functioning as an unregistered foreign agent. Affinity Partners, the firm Kushner established after leaving the Trump administration, raised over $3 billion in capital by the following year, with a significant portion coming from the Saudi Public Investment Fund. The lawmakers believe that the Saudi government’s engagement with Affinity for investment advice is a way to funnel money directly to Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump. They point out that Kushner had no experience in private equity before starting Affinity, raising further questions about his financial dealings.
The letter from Wyden and Raskin to Attorney General Garland highlights the potential conflict of interest and national security concerns raised by Kushner’s business dealings with foreign governments. They point to his involvement in U.S. foreign policy matters in the Middle East and his discussions with foreign officials after leaving the White House as areas of particular concern. The lawmakers are urging the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel to investigate Kushner’s actions and determine whether he violated any laws by serving as an unregistered foreign agent. The allegations against Kushner have sparked further scrutiny of his financial ties to foreign entities and raised questions about his role in shaping U.S. foreign policy while working in the Trump administration.
