While Republicans have been obsessing over Hunter Biden’s completely-unconnected-to-his-father finances, they’ve given a complete pass to Ivanka Trump hubby and former White House adviser to his father-in-law Jared Kushner.
Yep, that’s the same Jared Kushner who, despite being a complete novice in the field, somehow pocketed billions from the Saudis and more from other foreign governments for his investment fund. The New York Times has the latest on what he’s been doing with all that foreign dough. The short answer? Making money for himself and not returning profits to investors.
From The Times:
The private equity firm run by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald J. Trump, has been paid at least $112 million in fees since 2021 by Saudi Arabia and other foreign investors, even though as of July it had not yet returned any profits to the governments largely bankrolling the firm.
Those are among the findings of a Senate Finance Committee inquiry into the operations of Affinity Partners, the Miami-based firm Mr. Kushner set up.
The committee opened an investigation this spring in response to reporting in The New York Times examining the firm’s first three years of work.
…
[Committee Chair Sen. Ron] Wyden asked why Affinity Partners had not “distributed a penny of earnings back to clients,” and suggested that perhaps it was set up primarily as a way for foreign entities to pay the Kushners rather than a typical fund in which partners reap the returns of deployed capital.
Ya think? The Times further notes that that 99% of the $3 billion invested in Kushner’s fund comes from “overseas sources.” C&L called for an investigation into Kushner’s financial dealings in 2023. Back then it was “only” about the $2 billion the Saudis handed over to a guy Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly bragged, in 2018, that Kushner was “in his pocket.” That was while Kushner was a top White House adviser to his father-in-law. That was after Kushner received his top-secret clearance over the objections of two White House security specialists because of how dubious his connections with foreign money were.
You probably won’t be surprised to know that while Affinity Partners is not paying out any profits to its “investors,” Kushner is making what is surely a tidy sum in the meanwhile. According to The Times, the Senate committee staff estimated that by the end of 2024, the fund will take in a total of $157 million, with more than half coming from Saudi Arabia. Sole owner Kushner “has not disclosed how much he is being paid directly.”
Wyden wrote a letter to Affinity asking for more information, including about a foreign “mystery investor,” The Times article further noted. Also, the fund’s deal with its backers gives it until August 2026 to find companies to invest in. That's nearly two years into a potential second term for Ivanka’s Daddy. “That would create an obvious conflict of interest, Mr. Wyden wrote in his letter, as Saudi Arabia and the other foreign partners could attempt to pressure the Trump family as they weigh whether to pull their money out or renegotiate the terms of the deal.”
It’s not like we don’t already know that Felon Donald Trump raked in the foreign dough via shady transactions that just happened to precede U.S. positions favorable to the payors while he was in office.
Even for the Trump family of grifters, this should be a huge scandal. If being a felonious fraudster and sexual predator isn’t enough to disqualify the geriatric Donald Trump, the fact that his family is using public office as a dodgy ATM machine should.
