The chairpersons of the Senate Finance and House Oversight Committees have requested a slew of documents from the State and Defense Departments potentially revealing corruption in the involvement by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in administration policy towards Qatar. The Kushner family separately benefited from a deal with a Canadian investment company in which Qatari leaders put some of their funds.
That Canadian company’s money helped preserve the Kushner family real estate business’s involvement with a flagship Manhattan building that Jared obtained for what was then the largest sum ever paid anywhere in the United States for an office building — a purchase originally finalized shortly before the real estate market slumped around the time of the 2008 recession. The Canadian firm that later helped buoy the Kushner real estate operation, Brookfield Asset Management, previously claimed no Qatari money was involved in the investment into the Manhattan building, but Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — the finance panel chair — claims newly available evidence directly contradicts this insistence. Charles Kushner (Jared’s father) separately met with the Qatari team while pursuing options for the Manhattan building, although he has claimed he was concerned about the possibility of creating a conflict of interest considering his son’s policy work.
An October press release from the finance panel directly alleges that Qatari money was used for the Kushner property deal: “Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund was the second largest investor in Brookfield Property Partners, which was used to acquire the property.” One of the potential implications is apparently that Kushner may have supported a locally imposed blockade on Qatar while his family pursued funding for the Manhattan building, suggesting a set-up similar in nature to the pressure the Trump team imposed on Ukraine to conduct investigations politically favorable to Donald’s re-election effort — a scandal that led to Trump’s first impeachment. A meeting between Charles and the Brookfield team allegedly preceded the White House lifting its support for the Qatar blockade, according to Democrats.
It’s well-documented that Kushner was generally involved in administration policy towards Qatar and nearby countries. In a biography provided with materials from an investment fund he founded after leaving government service — where Jared obtained billions in funding from Saudi officials, it’s noted that Jared participated in the administration’s response to local tensions in the region. Testimony from former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has outlined how Kushner would break with other officials on policy issues, and among the communications and documents these committees are seeking from the State and Defense Departments are materials reflecting “Kushner seeking to influence, interfere with, or supersede the normal operations and responsibilities” of the departments, they said. Kushner is seemingly staying at least partly involved with the Trump political operation heading into 2024. Ivanka Trump, his wife, didn’t attend Donald’s campaign announcement speech and explicitly stated she’d be sitting out — but Kushner was present.
