Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) argue that a special counsel is needed to investigate whether Jared Kushner is violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
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Two senior Democrats are asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to appoint a special counsel to probe whether Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former senior White House adviser Jared Kushner is violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by not disclosing the payments he is receiving from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern governments.
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, note that Kushner has admitted to advising Trump’s campaign while also pocketing at least $80 million from the three Middle Eastern countries.
“There is also evidence that Mr. Kushner is secretly advising the Saudi government on US foreign policy in a manner that undermines the official objectives of the US government,” the lawmakers state.
Referring to Kushner as a “shadow diplomat,” they note that Kushner is not only advising Trump, but also Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and other foreign governments.
“Despite being engaged in plainly political activities, Mr. Kushner has not made FARA disclosures to DOJ related to the millions of dollars he is paid annually by entities owned and controlled by the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar,” they add.
FARA requires anybody working on behalf of a foreign government to disclose that relationship and the payment they are receiving for their work.
Activities subject to disclosure include engaging in political activities, PR work or political consulting on behalf of a foreign government, or representing the interests of another country before the US government.
“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 lawmakers state.
Wyden and Raskin argue that a special counsel is needed to investigate whether Kushner is violating FARA.
After Trump lost the 2020 election, Kushner launched a private investment fund (“Affinity Partners”) that is getting all of its money from abroad. Saudi Arabia is the main “client” and has put up $2 billion dollars (with another $1 billion coming from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and a Taiwanese businessman).
Each year, these clients are also paying millions of dollars in fees that flow into Kushner’s pockets.
“There is substantial reason to believe that the Saudi government’s decision to engage Affinity for investment advice is a fig leaf for funneling money directly to Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump,” the lawmakers state, adding that the former president’s son-in-law has no experience in the private equity field.
In fact, a committee advising the Saudi investment funds advised against investing in Affinity Partners because it lacks experience, its management fees are “excessive,” and its operations “unsatisfactory in all aspects.”
According to Wyden, all of this information points to one conclusion: “[Kushner is] masquerading as an investment manager but the evidence I’ve seen makes him look like an unregistered foreign agent.”
