What You Should Know About Saudi Arabia's $2 Billion Investment in Jared Kushner After Republicans Postpone Subpoena

What You Should Know About Saudi Arabia's $2 Billion Investment in Jared Kushner After Republicans Postpone Subpoena

SUMMARY The $2 billion investment that Jared Kushner's private equity business got from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund soon after his father-in-law Donald Trump left office in 2021 is the subject of Democrats' subpoena, which Republicans on Wednesday postponed. Here's what we know about the payment.

Important Information

Following Trump's departure from office in 2021, Kushner promptly established Affinity Partners, a new private equity business that by 2022 had raised over $3 billion in financing, of which roughly $2 billion came straight from the Saudi Public Investment fund, the sovereign wealth fund of the country.

The Public Investment Fund's head, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is said to have personally intervened to authorize the investment, overruling a group of experts who deemed the amount to be "unsatisfactory in all aspects."

While serving as Trump's White House advisor, Kushner formed a close friendship with bin Salman. With the kingdom facing public backlash over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi—which the Department of National Intelligence subsequently revealed was ordered by the crown prince—Kushner assisted in approving a $110 million arms sale to the country.

Ranking member of the House Oversight Committee Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, has consistently urged the committee to look into Kushner's agreement with the Saudis. The committee began an inquiry in February of last year, and in August, Comer was asked to submit a subpoena.

Subsequently, Affinity Partners has made investments in the fintech startup Mosaic, which offers loans for solar panel installation; last September, the company acquired 15% of the Israeli automaker Shlomo Group; and invested $500 million in the construction of opulent resorts throughout the Balkans, including a beach resort on an Albanian island and a hotel situated in a part of Belgrade that was bombed by NATO in the 1990s.

The New York Times revealed that the Public Investment fund also made a $1 billion investment, although on less favorable terms, in Liberty Strategic Capital, the private equity company founded by former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin after Trump's exit.

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During a nearly eight-hour hearing on Hunter Biden's business dealings and potential influence peddling on Wednesday, House Democrats moved to subpoena Kushner with questions on the Saudi agreement. Rather than focusing on Kushner, Democrats on the Oversight Committee pointed out that Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., had already vowed to bring up the Saudi agreement when they spoke about influence peddling. The House may "expect to subpoena Mr. Kushner's correspondence with the Saudi government, or his firm's financial records, or financial transactions between Mr. Kushner and his father-in-law," Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, questioned Comer. However, the chairman chose not to explicitly react to the topic. 

Comer said that the committee will "take up all the people who have been accused of influence peddling, and we'll try to determine if Jared Kushner has a real business—we haven't been able to find a real business that the Bidens have had yet." Comer did not say whether he would pursue Kushner further. While Hunter Biden had years of boardroom experience prior to being hired by energy firms that were under investigation, Kushner was so inexperienced in private equity that Saudi officials attempted to obstruct the money's transfer until the crown prince intervened. Following Casar's inquiries, Raskin moved to subpoena Kushner; however, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, moved to table the subpoena right once, and Comer and other Republicans backed the motion.

OPPOSITE

Republicans on the committee commended Kushner for his involvement in brokering peace agreements between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco, without responding to the accusations made against him. "Jared Kushner was carrying out the Abraham Accords well. "The Democrats, of course, don't want to acknowledge that," Jordan said at the hearing on Wednesday.

Crucial Quote

This February, at the Axios BFD Conference in Miami, Kushner sidestepped questions on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by asking, "Are we really still doing this?" to the interviewer. Kushner said that the Saudi prince was a “visionary leader” who achieved “transformative things” for his nation, but he had not seen the Department of National Intelligence assessment that implicated bin Salman and was published in 2021. "I think what happened there is really important, and Mohammed bin Salman, who was the deputy crown prince at the time, deserves recognition for that." I believe that what he has accomplished is utterly momentous for the nation. He has, in my opinion, accomplished a great deal of things that benefit America and have improved the international community. I believe that I support every policy that we proposed at the time. Khashoggi's death, according to Kushner, was "absolutely horrific," but "we had to do a lot of unusual things, but we had to be very pragmatic about how we progress the things that are in America's interest," he said later.