Jared Kushner $2 Billion Saudi Gift: Their Money for His Classified Information = Tit for Tat

Kushner behind the scenes gaining big Saudi money

Jared Kushner needs immediate and intense FBI investigation based on this story from Salon.com vis-à-vis his under the table and sleazy $2 billion deal making with the Saudi prince (MBS) that may have compromised national security with this story headline:

“Jared Kushner's Saudi payday: $2 billion deal with prince came months after exiting White House”

The ex-Trump official is reportedly on a first-name basis with the prince from his time in the Trump administration.

Closely tied to that above story is this one from Progressive.org with this headline:

“Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners”

Looks like his fealty to Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) finally paid off.

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, brokered a $2 billion deal for his private equity firm with the Saudi crown prince last summer, according to a bombshell New York Times report.

The deal, which was finalized six months after Trump left the White House, reportedly came despite serious misgivings within Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's inner circle.

Kushner reportedly secured the massive cash injection for his Affinity Partners, a private equity firm established months after his tenure as a White House advisor. 

Kushner's deal reportedly culminates multiple meetings between him and various Saudi leaders, with whom he developed relationships during his time in office.

Back in November, the NY Times also reported that Kushner was looking to raise money from numerous countries along the Persian Gulf, like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

He apparently was rebuffed by both the UAE and Qatar, leading him to seek financing from Saudi Arabia's chief sovereign wealth fund.  

Kushner, who has run businesses in both real estate and media, has no apparent experience in private equity. And during the deal-making process, the former Trump advisor reportedly made numerous unconventional requests with the Saudi government, causing trepidation with the fund's screening committee.

According to the NY Times, the committee's members – which span current and former heads of Saudi Aramco, Dow Chemical, the Saudi Central Bank, and Saudi Industrial Development Fund – all voted against proceeding with the deal. 

Members of the panel cited both Kushner's lack of experience in private equity as well as his exorbitant asset management fees.

But for reasons that remain unclear, the crown prince unilaterally overruled the committee. 

According to SEC filings made last month, Affinity Partners manages roughly $2.5 billion in assets, meaning that the Saudi investment comprises the vast majority of the firm's wealth. 

Numerous ethics experts have come forward to criticize the deal, suggesting that Kushner may have used his position as a White House advisor to plant seeds for a deal that would be struck after leaving office. 

Robert Weissman, president of the nonprofit group Public Citizen, told the NY Times that Kushner's relationship with the Saudis is extremely troubling.

Weissman said Kushner's posture toward the Saudi government: “Makes the business partnership appear even more to be both a reward to, and an investment in, Kushner.”

Walter Shaub, also a government ethics expert, echoed similar concerns, tweeting: “Makes you wonder if Jared did something with his official authority for MBS before leaving government to earn that investment.”

Finally, this may be the most-troubling part of this entire story – seen published March 21, 2018 here from The Intercept with this headline:

“SAUDI CROWN PRINCE BOASTED THAT JARED KUSHNER WAS IN HIS POCKET”

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) told confidants that Kushner discussed the names of royal family members opposed to his power grab.

Heart of the Intercept story:

Until he was stripped of his top-secret security clearance (ABC News story in February 2018), Trump presidential adviser Jared Kushner (also Trump’s son-in-law) was known around the White House as one of the most voracious readers of the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) – the highly-classified rundown of the latest intelligence intended only for the president and his closest advisers.

Kushner, who had been tasked with bringing about a deal between Israel and Palestine, was particularly engaged by information about the Middle East, according to a former White House official and a former U.S. intelligence professional.

In June, Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman ousted his cousin, then-Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, and took his place as next in line to the throne, upending the established line of succession.

In the months that followed, the PDB contained information on Saudi Arabia’s evolving political situation, including a handful of names of royal family members opposed to the crown prince’s power grab, that according to the former White House official and two U.S. government officials with knowledge of that report.

Like many others interviewed for this story, they declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about sensitive matters to the press.

In late October 2018, Kushner made an unannounced trip to Riyadh, catching some intelligence officials off guard. 

David Ignatius from the Washington Post reported at the time: “The “two princes” are said to have stayed up until nearly 4 a.m. several nights, swapping stories, and planning strategy.”

What exactly Kushner and MBS talked about in Riyadh may be known only to them, but after the meeting, MBS told confidants that Kushner had discussed the names of Saudis disloyal to the crown prince, according to three sources who have been in contact with members of the Saudi and Emirati royal families since the crackdown. 

Kushner, through his attorney’s spokesperson, denies having done so.

Insert: Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post who wrote critically of the crown prince and his policies was murdered on orders from MBS while he was in Turkey according to the reports earlier in that same month seen here in this report from NPR. 

RELATED FROM SALON.COM: U.S. says Saudi prince approved killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, mum on Jared Kushner’s role.

My 2 Cents: The GOP went nuts over Hillary Clinton’s private email server and emails and investigated her for months and found nothing worthwhile or criminal there and the same for their Benghazi crime hunt – nothing there, either but just headlines for the GOP.

Now however this “new” GOP is running crazy about Hunter Biden’s laptop and any the info it may or may not contain that they can use to smear Joe Biden, the Biden family as a whole, the DEMS for sure, and all for gain in 2022 and then to set the scene for Trump's comeback in the 2024. 

It is paramount for the Feds to look into Kushner, Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric, and, or anyone else in the Trump crime mob circle.

Thanks for stopping by.