Representative Jamie Raskin and Senator Ron Wyden called Thursday for the U.S. to investigate Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The Senate Finance Committee, which Wyden chairs, found that Kusher’s firm Affinity Partners had yet to return any profit to its foreign investors after receiving millions of dollars in fees from foreign governments, including as much as $87 million from Saudi Arabia. Now, Wyden and Raskin are calling for Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Kushner.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Kushner had chatted with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman several times since leaving the Trump White House, specifically discussing normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Kushner served as a top Middle East adviser during Trump’s time in office, and has floated his own wretched idea for what Israel ought to do with Gaza’s “waterfront property.”
Three sources close to Kushner told Reuters that if Trump were re-elected, they expected Kushner to be involved in any Saudi talks in an unofficial capacity. Wyden and Raskin allege that Kushner has already set to work.
“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 in a letter to Garland.
“Despite being engaged in plainly political activities, Mr. Kushner has not made FARA 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 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,” they added.
The letter alleged that Kushner’s extensive political activities require registration under FARA. This includes his work advising MBS and Trump, selling advisory and advocacy services through his private equity fund, aiding in fundraising efforts for Trump, arranging meetings with foreign dignitaries on U.S. soil, and influencing members of Congress on domestic and foreign policy.
