Democracy 21 Calls on Kushner to Disclose Foreign Lenders and Business Associates
Needs to Assure Public There Are No Conflicts of Interest with his Foreign Policy Responsibilities
In a letter sent today to White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, Democracy 21 called on Kushner to make full public disclosure of the foreign business lenders, investors and business associates involved in his extensive business holdings.
The letter stated. “We believe this information is essential in order to assure the American people that there are no conflicts of interest between the important foreign policy responsibilities assigned to you by President Trump and your extensive business holdings.”
According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer:
Jared Kushner’s foreign policy responsibilities as Senior Adviser to President Trump involve highly sensitive matters and longstanding relationships between the United States and a number of countries. The American people are entitled to have assurances that his efforts with regard to any of these foreign countries are not compromised by foreign financial ties to his business holdings.
In a previous letter sent to Jared Kushner on April 25, 2017, Democracy 21 expressed concerns about the potential conflicts of interest and the appearance of such conflicts Kushner faced, in light of the unprecedented policy responsibilities given to him by President Trump and the extensive business interests Kushner continued to hold.
The April 25 letter called on Kushner to publicly announce that he was recusing himself from a number of policy areas assigned to him by President Trump in order to avoid such conflicts, including matters involving China, Canada, Mexico, the Middle East and brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The letter also cited a Washington Post article (February 10, 2017) that said that Kushner is “the primary point of contact for presidents, ministers and ambassadors from more than two dozen countries.”
According to today’s letter:
Democracy 21 continues to believe that the recusals we called for in our April 25 letter are essential. Unless and until you make such recusals, Democracy 21 calls on you to make a full public disclosure now of all foreign lenders, investors and business associates involved in your extensive business holdings.
Today’s letter noted a Washington Post article (April 25, 2017) that found, based on Kushner’s financial disclosure report, that “Kushner reported owning a stake in nearly 300 different assets or companies collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars, most of which he still owns.” Kushner’s business holdings are valued at as much as $740 million.
Today’s letter also cited a New York Times article (March 31, 2017) that stated Kushner’s businesses depend “on foreign investment from undisclosed sources, as well as billions of dollars in loans from the world’s biggest financial services firms.”
The Times article noted that the financial disclosure reports filed by Kushner “do not reveal the names of investors and lenders to ventures that Mr. Kushner is retaining a stake in.”
The Times article also reported that the Kushner real estate firm “has borrowed money from the likes of Goldman Sachs, the Blackstone Group, Deutsche Bank and the French bank Natixis.” The article said the firm has “also received loans from Israel’s largest bank, Bank Hapoalim, which is the subject of a United States Justice Department investigation into allegations that it helped wealthy Americans evade taxes using undeclared accounts.”
According to today’s letter:
A New York Times article published on April 26, 2017 stated that you remain the beneficiary of trusts that own your “sprawling real estate firm” and that “the firm has taken part in roughly $7 billion in acquisitions over the last decade, many of them backed by foreign partners whose identities [you] will not reveal.”
The Times article discussed your business relationship over the years with Raz Steinmetz, an Israeli citizen. According to the article, you and the Steinmetz family “have purchased numerous properties in the New York City area together, spending around $188 million for about two dozen buildings in Manhattan and New Jersey.” As we noted in our April 25 letter and as discussed in the Times article, “Kushner Companies has taken out at least four loans from Israel’s largest bank, Bank Hapoalim.”
The Times article also stated that your partnership with Steinmetz “underscores the mystery behind his family’s multibillion-dollar business and its potential for conflicts with his role as perhaps the second-most powerful man in the White House, behind only his father-in-law, President Trump.”
According to the letter:
One of the most important responsibilities assigned to you by President Trump is to try to facilitate peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The fact that your business is reportedly financially obligated to an Israeli bank and that you have Israeli business associates illustrates why we believe recusal is called for in regard to this and other policy responsibilities.
Absent the recusals we called for in our letter of April 25, we believe that full public disclosure is required by you of your foreign financial ties, including foreign lenders, investors and business associates. Such full disclosure is needed in order for the public to know whether your foreign financial ties and obligations cause any conflicts of interest with your foreign policy responsibilities.
