Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump and his envoy for the wars with Iran and Ukraine, came under the microscope of the Democrats. These include allegations of money from Middle Eastern leaders, a possible conflict of interest and the risk of blackmail by foreign intelligence.
Kushner, 45, is the husband of Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter. The businessman is not a formal member of the administration, but Trump entrusted him with the role of one of the most important envoys for negotiations on Iran, Ukraine and the Gaza Strip. He and Steve Witkoff, a friend of Trump's, are considered among the president's closest and most influential advisers.
The White House emphasizes that Kushner conducts diplomatic activities on a volunteer basis.
Democrats demand explanations
As the New York Times emphasized, Kushner found himself "under the microscope" of Democrats who, as a result of winning the congressional elections, will gain a majority in committees with the power to conduct investigations and call witnesses to testify.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who may become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called on Kushner to recuse himself from negotiations on both the Middle East and Ukraine.
Raskin demanded that Kushner provide financial records to determine whether he accepted payments from foreign entities while performing important diplomatic functions on behalf of the United States, and whether foreign intelligence services obtained materials that could discredit him.
"There is no way you can serve as an American diplomat when at least five foreign countries - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia and even the Netherlands - appear to have compromising material in their possession," Raskin said.
He pointed to a potential conflict of interest between Kushner's diplomatic activities and his management of the Affinity Partners investment fund, which obtains funds from abroad.
Financial connections, phone hacking
Journalist Matthew Cole claims in his soon-to-be-available book "Princes and Thieves" that Kushner had access to "billions of dollars" in secret overseas bank accounts. The funds were to be provided by leaders of Middle Eastern countries in order to influence American foreign policy, the author wrote.
The allegations relate to Kushner's time as a White House adviser during Trump's first term. During this time, he played an important role in shaping American policy towards the Middle East.
An excerpt from the book, published in Vanity Fair magazine, says that, according to Dutch intelligence, Russian hackers broke into Kushner's phone in 2017. The Dutch allegedly recruited a Russian spy and also gained access to Trump's son-in-law's phone. The Dutch services had a view of the screen of Kushner's device. At that time, he was an advisor to the president, who, among other things, dealt with the Middle East.
Dutch intelligence agents allegedly witnessed Kushner logging into an account in the United Arab Emirates that was believed to have received hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan. The leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also allegedly deposited at least $2 billion into several bank accounts linked to Kushner.
These funds were to be used to pursue "unofficial diplomatic goals", such as negotiating an agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the author wrote.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly paid about $1 billion into at least one account linked to the president's son-in-law. These measures were intended to "serve Kushner's private interests."
Kushner's response to the accusations
Kushner and his lawyers deny these accusations. "The allegations made by this author are completely absurd and never occurred," Kushner said. He stated that the author "did not provide a single piece of verifiable evidence to support them."
“No bank statements, transfer confirmations, account numbers, transaction dates or any other verifiable information were provided to substantiate these extremely serious allegations,” he added.
In an interview with CBS News last year, Trump's son-in-law argued that his business and financial contacts were an asset in diplomatic activities.
