Although Donald Trump himself has tried to credit the step back taken by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner as the ex-president runs for the White House this time to personal considerations, some might also be hoping to evade even further scrutiny of the $2 billion provided by a Saudi leader in support of an investment fund that Kushner founded.
Kushner’s firm took official shape right after he left his official position in the Trump White House, where Ivanka, the then-president’s daughter, also had an advisory role. It seems most of the investment organization’s billions originate with the Saudis, considering Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) recently cited a total of $2 billion provided from that Saudi source — and in federal filings, Kushner’s company identified $2.54 billion in assets managed by the company, most of which it also said originated with foreign sources. In a letter issued last month, Raskin renewed a demand for Kushner and his company, known as Affinity, to provide documents outlining, among other things, the decision-making process behind the company taking in those billions.
The public investment fund from which the wealth came is led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is the Saudi leader also responsible for the infamous murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to what many concluded. Kushner was in repeated contact with the Saudi official while serving in Donald’s White House and separately helped advocate for moves that would favor that country’s government, such as Donald having his first trip outside the country as president be to Saudi Arabia. That’s in addition to developments like Trump himself pushing back on scrutiny of the prince for his role in Khashoggi’s death.
In tandem with some of these matters, Trump repeatedly expressed the sense that he’d provided the Saudi leader with favors — favors that Trump reportedly told Mike Pompeo meant he “owes” Trump’s team. Did the billions given to Kushner’s brand new wealth fund answer to that? What about the money that’s flowed from the same source to Trump’s businesses in connection to events for LIV Golf at Trump’s properties?
Raskin is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and scrutiny by the Democrats of Affinity originated in the previous Congress, when Democrats led the panel overall. Even now, Raskin can undertake moves like this demand for documents, which implicitly suggests the possibility of Democrats issuing subpoenas the rhetorical second that they regain the House majority.
“I write to renew prior concerns expressed by our Committee over reports that you improperly traded on your government position while carrying out the Trump Administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East,” Raskin told Kushner in his new letter. “Specifically, I am writing because you may have acted to benefit your personal financial and business interests to the tune of billions of dollars from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shortly after leaving government office and also because of your ongoing failure to cooperate with the Committee’s continuing investigation into this matter.” Affinity’s corporate structure conceals substantial detail about where its funds originated, Raskin noted to Kushner.
