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The Legendary Troll Kingdom
A former head ethics counsel for the Treasury Department said it's "long overdue" for an investigation into Jared Kushner, former senior advisor to President Donald Trump known for his significant influence in the Trump administration and his work in the Middle East. News broke Wednesday that the Senate Finance Committee launched an investigation into Kushner's overseas business activities. Committee Chair Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) asked Kushner's firm Affinity Partners for details about a $2 billion investment from the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund in 2021 and funding from other foreign investors.
“The Saudi PIF’s decision to invest $2 billion in Affinity so soon after Kushner’s departure from the Trump White House raises concerns that the investment was a reward for official actions Kushner took to benefit the Saudi government," Wyden wrote, "including preventing accountability for the Saudi government ordering the brutal murder of journalist and American citizen Jamal Khashoggi."
In light of Wyden's letter, former Treasury Department ethics counsel head Virginia Canter told Salon on Wednesday that the probe is “vital for our national security," adding that it's "pretty apparent" Kushner was involved in decisions that were "unusually favorable to the Saudis," and that within weeks of departing the White House, that he negotiated a $2 billion investment deal with them.
"It just raises all kinds of national security concerns for a former government official at that level – a former White House official — who never qualified, legitimately, for a security clearance," Canter said, adding that his actions while in the White House appeared to be swayed by his future once he left“It’s one of the most egregious situations I’ve ever seen in decades of working in the federal government as an ethics official,” Canter said. “It appears to be a payoff as much as a potential investment."
A panel that screens investments for Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund warned against investing with the inexperienced Kushner. The full board, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, overruled the recommendation.
Wyden has asked Kushner's firm for details about its investments, any fees it has received and how much Kushner has been paid.
“The Saudi PIF’s decision to invest $2 billion in Affinity so soon after Kushner’s departure from the Trump White House raises concerns that the investment was a reward for official actions Kushner took to benefit the Saudi government," Wyden wrote, "including preventing accountability for the Saudi government ordering the brutal murder of journalist and American citizen Jamal Khashoggi."
In light of Wyden's letter, former Treasury Department ethics counsel head Virginia Canter told Salon on Wednesday that the probe is “vital for our national security," adding that it's "pretty apparent" Kushner was involved in decisions that were "unusually favorable to the Saudis," and that within weeks of departing the White House, that he negotiated a $2 billion investment deal with them.
"It just raises all kinds of national security concerns for a former government official at that level – a former White House official — who never qualified, legitimately, for a security clearance," Canter said, adding that his actions while in the White House appeared to be swayed by his future once he left“It’s one of the most egregious situations I’ve ever seen in decades of working in the federal government as an ethics official,” Canter said. “It appears to be a payoff as much as a potential investment."
A panel that screens investments for Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund warned against investing with the inexperienced Kushner. The full board, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, overruled the recommendation.
Wyden has asked Kushner's firm for details about its investments, any fees it has received and how much Kushner has been paid.