Democratic lawmakers are asking the Justice Department to investigate former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, over his business dealings with Saudi Arabia.
Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland sent a letter on Thursday to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking to appoint a special counsel to determine whether Kushner violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
“While on the Saudi government’s payroll, Mr. Kushner is simultaneously serving as a political consultant to former President Trump and acting as a shadow diplomat and political advisor to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and other foreign principals,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Despite being engaged in plainly political activities, Mr. Kushner has not made [Foreign Agents Registration Act] disclosures to DOJ related to the millions of dollars he receives annually by entities owned and controlled by the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” the letter continued.
Wyden chairs the Senate Finance Committee, a Democratic-led panel currently investigating Kushner’s investment fund Affinity Partners and its foreign backing. The letter outlines the $2 billion investment the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund poured into Affinity Partners, generating an estimated $87 million of management fees since June 2021. The estimated income is based on Affinity Partners’s fee structure, as disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates combined with a Taiwanese billionaire have invested another $1 billion into Affinity Partners.
Wyden and Raskin believe the Saudi investment is a ploy to curry favor with Kushner with the goal of influencing Trump’s policy decisions if he becomes president again. Kushner remains an influential figure in Trump world and publicly comments on Israel’s multi-front war against Iranian terror proxies Hamas and Hezbollah. As an adviser to Trump, Kushner spearheaded talks that produced the Abraham Accords, the Trump administration’s landmark Middle Eastern peace agreement. (National Review)
“The scale of these undisclosed foreign payments to Mr. Kushner coupled with the national security implications of his apparent ongoing efforts to sell political influence to the highest foreign bidder are unprecedented and demand action from DOJ,” the Democrats added. “We therefore urge you to appoint a Special Counsel to investigate whether Mr. Kushner is influencing U.S. domestic and foreign policy on behalf of foreign government clients without making the appropriate mandatory disclosures.”
A spokesperson for Kushner told Politico “Jared runs an SEC registered fund that abides by all laws and regulations,” and the move by Wyden and Raskin is nothing more than a "desperate attempt by partisan Democrats to manufacture an issue where none exists 12 days before an election.”
🚨NEW: RM @RepRaskin and Senate Finance Chair @RonWyden urge DOJ to appoint a special counsel to investigate Jared Kushner—former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law & former senior White House adviser—for acting as an unregistered foreign agent:https://t.co/xAFBVpogT7
— Oversight Committee Democrats (@OversightDems) October 24, 2024