Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in this Congress, remains concerned about the foreign financial ties held by Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of former President Donald Trump.
Though Kushner is not known to be directly involving himself in Trump’s latest campaign for office, the close, personal connection could still potentially facilitate a conflict of interest in any decisions that Trump may make around foreign policy if he regains power.
After leaving government service in the Trump administration seen from 2017 through 2021, Kushner has led an investment company that’s enjoyed huge levels of financial support from foreign interests, particularly a government fund in Saudi Arabia. Kushner’s company is understood to have received $2 billion from that source, where Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is in charge. It’s this same foreign leader widely tied to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — after which Trump, when still in office, ran what was arguably interference for the foreign leader, behaving dismissively towards concerns about the Saudi crown prince’s role. Now, even Trump’s family business has seemingly raked in millions from Saudi leadership through hosting events for LIV Golf.
Raskin wants a subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee to compel the production of information that Democrats on the panel have been seeking from Kushner’s company. Raskin has now written to that effect to Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), currently the committee’s chairman. Comer has expressed at least some concern with what Kushner has been doing, though considerable Republican focus has stayed with Hunter Biden, a son of the current president.
“In light of these concerns, I urge you to pursue a serious and objective investigation by issuing a subpoena to Affinity and requiring the firm to comply with my February 15, 2023, request for documents regarding its receipt of billions of dollars from Gulf monarchies shortly after Mr. Kushner left a senior White House position he used to reshape U.S. foreign policy toward Saudi Arabia and the Middle East in Saudi Arabia’s favor—a request you have thus far allowed Mr. Kushner to ignore and defy,” Raskin wrote, in a portion highlighted in a Democratic press release.
