Date: 2025-01-06 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00027746
THE TRUMP ORBIT
INVOLVEMENT OF JARED KUSHNER
Stunning Report Reveals Jared Kushner’s Secret Conversations With MBS
INVOLVEMENT OF JARED KUSHNER
Stunning Report Reveals Jared Kushner’s Secret Conversations With MBS
Jared Kushner
John Lamparski/Getty Images
Original article: https://newrepublic.com/post/186788/jared-kushner-saudi-arabia-mbs-israel
Original article: https://www.reuters.com/world/kushner-has-discussed-us-saudi-diplomacy-with-saudi-crown-prince-2024-10-04/
Wyden letter PDF: Affinity-Chairman-Wyden-letter-to-Affinity-Partners.pdf
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
These items from The New Republic (TNR) got my attention, but 'there was really no there, there'.
I have recently 'subscribed' to The New Republic in the Internet space ... but so far have been disappointed. Maybe I am not accessing the TNR information in the right way ... or maybe it is simply that I have been fleeced!
I look forward to find out which it is!
This piece about Jared Kushner is not a good start!
Peter Burgess
Written by Edith Olmsted
October 4, 2024
Jared Kushner is pocketing billions from Saudi Arabia—and now reportedly speaking to the country’s crown prince about foreign policy.
Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has reportedly chatted with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman several times since leaving the Trump White House.
A source familiar with the discussions told Reuters that Kushner had discussed normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, but would not specify whether the conversations were before or after the start of Israel’s deadly military campaign in Gaza.
Last month, Saudi Arabia said that it would not recognize Israel until the creation of a Palestinian state, which if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to be believed, is a long way off. This is in sharp contrast to Kushner’s pitch to move Palestinians to the Negev Desert and transform Gaza’s “very valuable” “waterfront property.”
Kushner served as a top Middle East adviser during Trump’s time in office, and was instrumental in installing the Abraham Accords, which saw Israel normalize ties with two other Gulf countries.
Kushner’s cozy relationship with MBS highlights how Donald Trump might choose to work with Saudi Arabia should he be reelected in November. Three sources close to Kushner said that they expect Trump’s son-in-law to be involved in any Saudi talks in an unofficial capacity. A spokesperson for Kushner denied that he was seeking any such role.
It’s not clear, however, that Kushner has any leverage in his relationship with MBS.
Last month, the Senate Finance Committee found that Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners, had yet to return any profit to its foreign investors after receiving billions from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and other foreign governments.
In his report, Senator Ron Wyden wrote that “sovereign wealth fund investments and prospective real estate deals give foreign governments leverage over the Trump family.”
Wyden explained that “a potential future Trump administration will have financial motives to make foreign policy decisions that may be counter to the national interest in order to ensure Kushner and Ivanka Trump continue to collect millions of dollars in fees from foreign governments through Affinity.”
When asked for more details about Kushner’s friendship with MBS, the source with knowledge of their conversations declined, saying, “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to share that.” Trump son-in-law Kushner has discussed US-Saudi diplomacy with Saudi crown prince
By Aram Roston and Alexandra Ulmer
October 4, 20249:27 AM EDT
Item 2 of 2 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 11, 2024. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump, has discussed U.S.-Saudi diplomatic negotiations involving Israel with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman multiple times since leaving the Trump White House, said a source familiar with the discussions.
The source did not identify when the talks took place and whether they occurred before or after the start of the Gaza conflict. But they included discussions on the process of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a key diplomatic objective of both the Biden and Trump administrations, the source said.
Kushner, 43, has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, which congressional investigators say has invested $2 billion in his private equity fund, Affinity Partners, which Kushner set up after leaving the White House.
The news that Kushner and Saudi Arabia’s de-facto leader discussed a peace accord that U.S. President Joe Biden also has tried to broker illustrates the importance both Republicans and Democrats place on the increasingly unstable Middle East amid a razor-close presidential election. The talks also signal how Trump might manage the crisis in the region if voters return him to power – and renew questions about whether Kushner’s financial ties with Riyadh could influence U.S. policy under his father-in-law.
Saudi Arabia’s investments in Kushner’s fund have been criticized by ethics experts, Democrats in Congress and even some Republicans, opens new tab, who have expressed concern that Saudi Arabia’s stake can look like a payoff since Kushner worked on Saudi issues before leaving Trump’s White House.
In a Sept. 24 letter, opens new tab to Affinity, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote that investments by Saudi Arabia in Kushner’s fund raise “obvious conflicts of interest concerns.” Affinity and Kushner have denied that Saudi Arabia’s investments are a payoff or a conflict of interest. Affinity said Wyden and his Senate staff do not understand the realities of private equity. “The reason so many people go to Jared for his insights and his opinions is that he’s had such a record of successes,” said a spokesperson for Kushner.
The source close to Kushner declined to provide more details of the discussions with the crown prince, also known as “MbS, saying he did not want to violate the friendship between the two. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to share that,” the source said.
A spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not answer questions about Kushner’s discussions with MbS.
In a Sept. 18 speech, MbS said the kingdom would not recognize Israel without the creation a Palestinian state, suggesting a deal may be near impossible for the foreseeable future. That’s a shift from February when three sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia was willing to accept a political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state, rather than anything more binding, in a bid to get a defense pact with Washington approved before the U.S. presidential election.
To encourage Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, the Biden administration has offered Riyadh security guarantees, assistance with a civilian nuclear program and a renewed push for a Palestinian state. The deal could reshape the Middle East by uniting two long-time foes and binding the world's biggest oil exporter to Washington at a time when China is making inroads in the region. But the Gaza conflict has thrown the talks into uncertainty. The war and humanitarian crisis have strengthened Arab and Muslim support for the Palestinians in their decades-long conflict with Israel over land and statehood, making it difficult for Riyadh to discuss recognizing Israel without addressing Palestinian aspirations.
The U.S. election is also a factor as Trump, a Republican, vies with Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in a historically tight race for the White House.
The Saudi relationship with Trump was notably close. Trump’s first foreign trip as president in 2017 was to Riyadh, accompanied by Kushner. After Saudi expatriate opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Trump stood by the crown prince in spite of a U.S. intelligence assessment that he had authorized the killing. MbS denied involvement.
Two sources familiar with Saudi strategy said that if Trump returns to the White House, the crown prince would welcome making a deal with Israel under his leadership. If Harris were to win, the agreement would still move forward, the sources said. Either way, the sources see it as a win-win for MbS, even if it requires a few more months of patience.
On Sept. 27, Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the prospect of an agreement in positive terms. “What blessing such a peace with Saudi Arabia would bring,” he said in a speech to the UN General Assembly.
Normalizing Israeli-Saudi relations would mark an expansion of the “Abraham Accords” sealed when Trump was in office. The accords led to the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Kushner, who is close to Israel, led the negotiations as a senior adviser in Trump’s White House.
Three sources close to Kushner said that if Trump wins November’s presidential election, they expect Kushner to be involved in the Saudi talks, albeit in an unofficial capacity. A spokesperson for Kushner denied that he is seeking such a role.
If Kushner were to be involved in diplomatic talks as a private citizen in a second Trump term, it could pose a significant conflict of interest, ethics experts say, putting Kushner in the extraordinary position of conducting government-level negotiations with one of his major financial investors.
While Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have largely stayed away from Trump's campaign events, they were present at the Republican National Convention in July, sitting and clapping in the family box behind Trump.
Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Beirut. Editing by Jason Szep
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Original article: https://www.reuters.com/world/kushner-has-discussed-us-saudi-diplomacy-with-saudi-crown-prince-2024-10-04/
Wyden letter PDF: Affinity-Chairman-Wyden-letter-to-Affinity-Partners.pdf