Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden launched an investigation Wednesday of an investment firm run by Jared Kushner, saying the vast amount of foreign funding raises the risk that Middle Eastern states will curry favor with politically connected people who may return to power in Washington.
Mr. Wyden, Oregon Democrat, alleged the structure of the payments to Affinity Partners, founded by Mr. Kushner, husband of Ivanka Trump, shields them from public scrutiny and may be an end-run around the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
“It is deeply concerning that several Middle Eastern governments are using funds managed by Affinity as a means to pay tens of millions of dollars in fees every year to former President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, creating significant conflicts of interest and potential counterintelligence risks,” Mr. Wyden said.
The Democrat launched the probe on the heels of President Biden’s son, Hunter, being convicted in Delaware of three federal gun crimes.
Some Republicans say the trial obscured larger questions about Hunter Biden’s work to trade off his famous father’s name through businesses such as Seneca Global Advisors, which claimed to help companies expand into foreign markets. Hunter Biden’s foreign deals are also central to House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Biden, though the probe has largely stalled.
House investigators say Hunter Biden and his partners used shell companies to obscure the foreign money, and the investments appeared to be an attempt to influence the elder Mr. Biden, who served as vice president from 2009 to 2017.
Mr. Kushner’s firm, meanwhile, has made over $1 billion in investments in companies in Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Europe. The firms range from car-leasing businesses to food companies in the Middle East to a $500 million hotel and condominium complex in Serbia.
Mr. Kushner has said he follows the law and will make plenty of money for investors. He has also downplayed the idea he’s eager to return to the White House after serving as an adviser to President Trump.
House Republicans defended Mr. Kushner.
“The idea that Jared Kushner did something wrong is ridiculous. Mr. Kushner is a legitimate businessman, unlike Hunter Biden, and did amazing work to help the United States secure the historic Abraham Accords,” said Russell Dye, a spokesman for House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio.
The Abraham Accords were historic agreements brokered by the Trump administration in which Arab states normalized relations with Israel.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said “Democrat hypocrisy knows no bounds.” He pointed to questions about the president’s alleged involvement in Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals and lack of Senate action to punish Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat facing trial on bribery charges.
“Instead, they continue to obsess over President Trump and his family’s financial success,” said Mr. Comer of Kentucky.
Mr. Wyden says he has legitimate concerns because Affinity Partners received 99% of its money from foreign sources, leaving it fraught with potential conflicts of interest as Mr. Trump plots his return to the Oval Office.
“This series of events creates an appearance that Affinity’s investors are motivated not by commercial interests of seeking a return on investment, but rather by strategic considerations of foreign nationals seeking to funnel money to U.S. individuals with personal connections to former President Trump,” Mr. Wyden wrote to Affinity Partners Chief Financial Officer Lauren Key.
The Washington Times submitted a press inquiry to Affinity Partners through its website to seek comment on the probe.
Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, had no comment on Mr. Wyden’s probe, according to his spokeswoman.
Mr. Wyden requested an exhaustive list of information by June 26, including a list of Affinity employees and investors since 2021, communications with foreign entities and details on investment values, compensation and fees.
The senator is particularly aiming at investments from Saudi Arabia.
According to his letter, roughly $2 billion of the $3 billion worth of assets managed by Affinity Partners is from an investment made by the Saudi Public Investment Fund in June 2021, or shortly after Mr. Kushner left the White House.
“As the founder and sole owner of Affinity, Kushner is the biggest beneficiary of the fees paid to Affinity by the Saudi PIF and other Gulf state clients,” the letter said.
Mr. Wyden asserted that Mr. Kushner has little experience in private equity or hedge funds and took a soft approach to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the 2018 murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
Mr. Kushner, speaking to a Miami summit hosted by Axios this year, said what happened to Khashoggi was “horrific” but defended his work with the crown prince.
“Again, our job was to represent America and to try to push forward things in America,” Mr. Kushner said.
Mr. Wyden’s letter said the Saudi PIF’s investment committee objected to Affinity Partners’ operations and lack of experience, only to be overruled by the crown prince and the PIF’s board of directors.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has feuded with Mr. Kushner and Mr. Trump, raised the issue during his short-lived 2024 GOP primary bid for president.
“Why would you send Jared Kushner to the Middle East when you have Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo as secretaries of state?” Mr. Christie said during a town hall event. “We found out the answer six months after he left office — $2 billion from the Saudis.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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