Summary
A watchdog lawsuit challenges the president’s son-in-law’s diplomatic role, raising questions about financial transparency, foreign business interests, and who gets to exercise American power.
The Paradox
When President Trump formed his cabinet and filled staff positions in his first term, it came as no surprise that his family would tag along in some aspects. His sons, Don Jr. and Eric, would continue to run the family business, while Ivanka would be a close advisor and assistant to the president. However, none of these roles matched the level of responsibility he would assign to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
As the husband of Ivanka and son of Charles Kushner, he clearly had some name ID, but the general public was just meeting him. His appointment would be as an advisor to the president, tasked with, among other things, brokering “peace in the Middle East.” Though Trump’s intelligence community had something to say about it.
He failed his security clearance.
Due to his financial ties and contacts with foreign officials, national security professionals deemed him unfit to hold a security clearance. Such weaknesses would render his access to presidential briefings and other policy materials unsafe. Trump dismissed concerns from his officials and ordered them to issue Kushner a top-secret security clearance. Despite handling the nation's most sensitive diplomatic crises and nuclear negotiations, there is no public record of Kushner holding a security clearance in Term 2.
So, what’s the paradox? The exact countries that he is now negotiating with on behalf of the United States government are the exact nations funding his private wealth. He now claims to be a “volunteer” for the federal government in the Trump administration, which many say is to evade financial disclosures. As a “volunteer,” the administration has seemingly left key ambassadorships vacant. Why?
By utilizing an unvetted family member to execute functions traditionally assigned to these vacant, Senate-confirmed positions, the administration bypasses the Constitution’s structural safeguards designed to guard against “unfit characters” and favoritism.
Yet he exercises the highest level of executive branch authority on the global stage without having set foot in front of Congress for approval. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit to block Kushner from serving as an envoy without disclosing personal finances, but it doesn’t end there.
The Vanity Fair Bombshell: The Hacked Phone
- The Intelligence: In Spring 2020, Dutch intelligence hacked Jared Kushner’s phone.
- The Discovery: Monitored access to a secret Dubai-based bank account containing hundreds of millions of dollars originating from Azerbaijan.
- The Threat: Kushner allegedly transferred over $700 million to a warlord, a mercenary, and a former hitman.