Two Democratic members of Congress are calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Jared Kushner’s political advice to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to Garland on Thursday requesting that a special counsel be appointed to examine Kushner’s business and political ties to the Saudi government.
Kushner — the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump who also served as a policy adviser to Trump during his White House tenure — is currently advising Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.
In addition to the political advice he reportedly gave Bin Salman (including on U.S.-Saudi relations relating to Israel), the Saudi government has also given more than $2 billion to Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners since 2021 — around two-thirds of that company’s net worth.
The two lawmakers allege that Kushner may have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by providing advice to Bin Salman while serving in the Trump administration and as an adviser to Trump during his campaign. Under FARA, individuals who serve as agents to foreign leaders or other actors must register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) if they also engage in political activities within the U.S.
Raskin and Wyden are requesting that a special counsel center an inquiry into Kushner on his advisory work for both MBS and the Trump campaign, whether he’s been selling “geopolitical advisory and political advocacy services to foreign government clients,” and the possibility that he influenced members of Congress on domestic and foreign policy.
“While on the Saudi government’s payroll, Mr. Kushner is simultaneously serving as a political consultant to former President Trump and acting as a shadow diplomat and political advisor to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and other foreign principals,” the letter from Raskin and Wyden states. “Despite being engaged in plainly political activities, Mr. Kushner has not made FARA disclosures to DOJ related to the millions of dollars he receives annually by entities owned and controlled by the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.”
Kushner “appears to be influencing U.S. foreign policy by acting as a political consultant to the Saudi government while also accepting their money,” the letter adds, noting that his “proximity to President Trump and the potential for political interference warrants the appointment of a Special Counsel.”
Kushner has denied any improprieties, calling the letter a “silly political stunt.”
However, Kushner’s business dealings with Saudi Arabia, so soon after leaving government office, “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,” Virginia Canter, an attorney with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told Salon about Kushner’s connections earlier this year.
“It’s one of the most egregious situations I’ve ever seen in decades of working in the federal government as an ethics official,” added Canter, who also served as chief ethics counsel for the Treasury Department. “It appears to be a payoff as much as a potential investment.”
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