House Oversight Democrats are calling on committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) to use his subpoena power to investigate the foreign business dealings of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — an investigation Comer has been personally stalling for more than a year.
Since Republicans gained control of the House in 2022, Comer has focused the bulk of the Oversight Committee’s work on a sprawling probe into President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.
But earlier this month, Comer himself acknowledged that Kushner had “crossed the line of ethics” in his foreign business dealings, a statement Rep.Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is looking to capitalize on.
In a Thursday letter to Comer, Raskin requested that he issue a “subpoena to Jared Kushner’s investment firm, A Fin Management LLC (Affinity), to compel the production of documents regarding the extraordinary funding it received from foreign governments — including billions of dollars from sovereign wealth funds controlled by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) — shortly after Mr.Kushner left government service.” Democrats originally sought information from Affinity in June of last year , a request Kushner ignored.
“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,” Raskin wrote.
Kushner served as senior advisor to Trump on matters of foreign policy, including in the Middle East, despite a lack of previous foreign policy experience.After Kushner left government service at the end of his father-in-law’s term, Affinity secured a $2 billion investment from the state-owned sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Affinity raised an additional $400 million in investment from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.Editor’s picks Special Report: Future of Music 2023 The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
“As Committee Democrats have repeatedly insisted, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s direct personal involvement in ensuring Mr.Kushner received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia’s PIF (public investment fund) — plus a $25 million a year management fee — raises the significant possibility that there was a large quid pro quo shaping Mr.
Kushner’s official actions in the White House, where he helped dramatically recast U.S.foreign policy toward Saudi Arabia,” Raskin wrote.
Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, added that the Saudi private investment fund’s own advisors had raised objections about giving Kushner the money, airing concerns about “Affinity’s ‘excessive’ management fees, as well as ‘the inexperience of the Affinity Fund management.’” Trending Hillary Clinton Was Not Happy With ‘Saturday Night Live’ Portrayal of Teenage Chelsea Taylor Swift Announces Eras Tour Concert Film Jacksonville Shooter Wanted Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly ‘to be Killed On Sight,’ His Writings Reveal Doja Cat Takes Down ‘Scarlet’ Album Announcement Amid Similarities Made With German Metal Band’s
Raskin referenced Comer’s fixation on Hunter Biden in his appeal to the chair.“I trust that you will recognize that the Committee cannot claim to be “investigating foreign nationals’ attempts to target and coerce high-ranking U.S.officials’ family members by providing money or other benefits in exchange for certain actions” without examining the former Administration’s plethora of foreign financial entanglements,” he wrote.
In a statement provided to Rolling Stone, a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee called the letter “nothing more than an attempt to distract from the mounting evidence of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s influence peddling schemes.If Ranking Member Raskin was truly concerned about ethics in government, then he would join Republicans in our investigation of the Bidens’ blatant corruption.”.
