The Grifter's War

Jared Kushner is egregiously exploiting American lives to further enrich himself

In the foreground, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law, ready to step in when opportunity knocks. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)

Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner appeared on stage yesterday at a global investors’ conference in Miami. He explained why he likes leading a multibillion-dollar global investment firm.

“The cool thing about the investment business is you’re meeting with really smart people all the time,” Kushner said. “You get to choose which adventure you’re a part of.”

Among those “really smart people” he got to meet with was Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince who oversees his country’s sovereign wealth fund and who green-lit the operation that led to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The “cool” thing is that he got $2 billion from the Saudis to launch his fledgling equity firm, Affinity Partners, six months after his father-in-law left the White House.

This was despite the doubts expressed by a panel responsible for screening the sovereign fund’s investments—doubts that included the “inexperience” of Kushner’s fund managers, an “excessive” asset management fee, and ultimately found the firm “unsatisfactory in all aspects.”

But that panel did not weigh in on the over-arching importance of Kushner’s familial connection, nor the fact that he played a key role in defending the prince even after U.S. intelligence determined that he had approved the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi. As the CIA report concluded, “We assess that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”

All of this might seem like old news, albeit still deeply disturbing. You may recall Kushner said he had no plans to participate in a second Trump term, telling a podcaster in December 2024 that he would “pre-emptively try to avoid any conflicts” of interest and that his firm didn’t “have to raise capital for the next four years.”

But that was then. And now: Since he gets to “choose which adventure to be a part of,” and since his father-in-law came calling, how could he not team up with real estate developer and so-called Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to talk to the Iranians about a deal? Wasn’t he just the guy to conclude the Iranians were “not serious” about negotiating, essentially triggering his reckless boss’ decision to go to war? How could he not deploy all of his remarkable experience to help decide who lives and dies in the region?

And so what if this man, this financial investor who has no official government status, is now carrying out the most serious of responsibilities on behalf of the U.S. government which is planning to put American troops on the ground in Iran? So what if Jared’s current “adventure” did not include avoiding conflicts of interest or following U.S. law, facts he easily glosses over?

“Technically, I’ve not joined the administration,” he said yesterday in Miami. “I’m still just a volunteer and a businessman who volunteered to help the government when asked.”

Gosh, he sounds almost noble, amirite?

Except we since have learned that this “volunteer” was continuing to exploit his current adventure to try and raise another $5 billion for his firm. Forget that earlier lie about pre-emptively avoiding conflicts of interest and not needing more capital—not when the president is on the line and calls you into service. Not when there are billions more to rake in. As The New York Times blithely described the grifting, “The efforts show the blurring of the lines between public service and private profit-seeking during Mr. Trump’s second term.”

And while Kushner can conclude that the talks with Iran were not serious, leading Trump to launch a war days later, I guess we’re supposed to ignore the Washington Post report that Jared’s top funder, Mohammed bin Salman, “made multiple private phone calls to Trump over the past month advocating a U.S. attack, despite his public support for a diplomatic solution.” (This was according to four people “familiar with the matter.”)

News (not from The Onion) that House Speaker Mike Johnson was handing Trump an “America First” gold trophy Wednesday night could not be more pathetic. For Johnson to imply that Jared and Donald are prioritizing anything other than their bank accounts is seriously missing the point.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren summarized it like this:

While Trump puts American service members lives at risk in a war against Iran,” his ‘peace envoy’ Jared Kushner is busy raising money for his own private equity firm. He’s looking for $5 billion from foreign governments. Americans here at home are paying nearly 30 percent more for gas, and Donald Trump’s inner circle is about themselves making more money. This looks like one of the most disgusting grifts yet—and, I got to say, that’s saying a lot for the most corrupt administration in American history.

In a letter to the White House Counsel, the head of the Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington (CREW) noted that Jared had not filed a required public financial disclosure report. “Mr. Kushner has been involved in the most serious foreign policy and national security issues of the day,” yet “has not been subject to any transparency requirements, nor has he been vetted through the security clearance process or Senate confirmation to assess potential conflicts that could undermine his ability to carry out the duties of his role or identify financial conflicts of interest.”

These are the kinds of issues that a responsible government would respond to, one that genuinely cares about the interests of Americans and the importance of ethics. But conflicts of interest are the last thing that this regime cares about—even in something as serious as deciding to wage war—if there’s money to be made.

Here’s how Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden summarized Jared’s grift:

The guy is literally on the payroll of the Saudi government and trying to take even more of their money while simultaneously hijacking U.S. foreign policy with his shadow State Department. The U.S. becomes less safe and more corrupt every day Jared Kushner remains involved in our political system.

I couldn’t say it any better myself.

And just in case you wonder whether the grifting extends beyond Kushner, note the apparent insider trading—a large spike in transactions this week—just minutes before Trump announced that he was delaying his plan to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure. “It's not really ambiguous,” economist Paul Krugman told NPR yesterday, adding, “And these are not little random events. It's $580 million worth of transactions in the crude oil market.”

As the chaos and the conflict continues, the regime’s insiders get richer. Krugman titled his essay on this trading “Treason in the Futures Market.” Add this trading to the list of why we need accountability for this criminal Trump regie.

One more thing: This week the so-called Commander-in-Chief got more North Korea-style praise from at least two of his most sycophantic subordinates during a roundtable in Memphis, TN—another reminder how untethered from reality these people are.

First came Stephen Miller, his deputy chief of staff: “What President Trump has done on border security and public safety is a national miracle that will be studied not only for generations but for centuries to come.” Trump then asked FBI director Kash Patel to try and top that, who concluded his non-stop praise with this doozy: “Mr. President, thanks for delivering America the safest, safest, safest country on God’s green Earth.”

Yet another reason why millions of Americans need to head to the streets tomorrow to engage in loud and clear public protest—to remind the regime that it can lie day after day, but its days in power are numbered. You can find your nearest No Kings events here. I will be broadcasting on Substack Live tomorrow afternoon from New York City.

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