On April 17, 2026, Rep. Jamie Raskin launched a House Judiciary investigation into Jared Kushner's “glaring and incurable conflict of interest” — serving simultaneously as Trump's informal Middle East envoy negotiating with Iran, Russia, and Israel while running Affinity Partners, a private equity firm bankrolled by $2 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund plus hundreds of millions from Qatar and the UAE.
Raskin: “You cannot both be a diplomat and a financial pawn of the Saudi monarchy at the same time. You cannot faithfully represent the United States with billions of dollars in Saudi and Emirati cash burning a hole in every pocket of every suit you own.”
Raskin noted the core conflict: “Your client Saudi Arabia wants to see a continuation and escalation of President Trump's Iran war, but the American people have an interest in minimizing the loss of American lives.”
Affinity Partners' assets have surged to $6.2 billion. Its largest investor is Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, led by Crown Prince MBS. The firm has earned a 25% rate of return since 2021. The NYT reported Kushner was seeking to raise $5 billion more from Gulf states while serving as negotiator. Qatar invested roughly $200 million reportedly out of fear of “unfavorable treatment” from a future Trump administration.
This is the third congressional investigation into Kushner's conflicts — Rep. Garcia and Sen. Wyden launched their own probe in March, and a 2024 Wyden investigation found Affinity collected approximately $157 million in fees from foreign clients, including $87 million from Saudi Arabia, while generating no return on investment for its backers.
The investigation connects directly to the existing intelligence controversy: the NSA intercepted foreign nationals discussing Kushner's influence on Trump's Iran policy, and DNI Gabbard suppressed the intelligence report.
The White House called Raskin “an attention-seeking loser.” Affinity's legal officer said Kushner “has complied with all applicable laws.”
Update (September 18, 2026): The New Yorker reported on September 14, 2026, in a piece by Dexter Filkins, that Kushner did raise the money. According to that report, while serving as Trump's envoy in negotiations involving Iran, Kushner raised an additional $5 billion for Affinity Partners from Middle Eastern investors, growing the fund by roughly 30 percent in 2025 to more than $6 billion and generating at least tens of millions a year in management fees. Affinity put $110 million into an Israeli car-leasing group and nearly $300 million into an Israeli insurer.
The precision matters: the $5 billion is capital raised into a fund, not income to Kushner. What he personally collects is management fees on that capital, which is the actual conflict.
Former CIA officer Julia Curley, quoted in coverage of the report, said, “If the reporting is true that he's accepting hundreds of millions of dollars in fees from the same countries that he's negotiating with in his own government capacity, I can't think of another case where this has occurred in my 20 years of being a CIA officer.”
This rests on one original report. The New Yorker piece is paywalled and outlets restating it are not independent confirmation.
Update (October 2, 2026): a CNN investigation examined the Israeli insurer. Affinity, which Kushner owns outright, bought into Phoenix Financial in July 2024 and roughly doubled its stake five days before Trump's 2025 inauguration, becoming Phoenix's largest shareholder. Israeli filings reviewed by CNN show Phoenix holds at least $265 million in Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons maker, and stakes in at least eight other companies supplying Israel's military; Affinity does not hold those companies directly, and CNN “found no indication that Kushner's actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed.” In July Affinity sold about a quarter of its Phoenix stake for roughly $343 million, keeping about 7.4% worth about $1.08 billion, Calcalist reported, after investing about $305 million in total; a Latham & Watkins release on the deal confirms the 7.4% remainder. Because Kushner serves as a volunteer envoy, he files no financial disclosure.
White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said Kushner's “personal business activities have nothing to do with his diplomatic engagements, which he conducts on a volunteer basis at the President's request.” Cynthia Brown of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told CNN, “The difference is that the people profiting should not be the people making the decisions to make that policy.” Kushner called it “a deeply misleading story” on X and wrote, “I have no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells.”
Update (October 6, 2026): Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wrote to Kushner on October 5 after CNN's report, saying Affinity Partners is the largest shareholder in an Israeli company “with more than $456 million invested in nine companies that supply Israel's military, including its largest arms manufacturer,” and asking for information by October 19. Kushner's attorney told CNN the letter was “a masterclass in irony,” noting Garcia's own interest in the same stock. As a minority-party request, the letter carries no subpoena power.
Update (October 30, 2026): Raskin expanded his investigation on October 30 and demanded that Kushner recuse himself from Middle East and Ukraine negotiations, according to a House Judiciary Democrats release. The letter rests on excerpts of the book “Princes and Thieves” published in Vanity Fair, which, according to the release, allege that Kushner accessed hidden foreign government-funded accounts while serving in the first Trump White House, including “a slush fund linked to financing proxy wars and another account intended for his personal benefit,” that the accounts did not appear in his required financial disclosures, and that Russian intelligence hacked his phone. These are allegations from a book as summarized in a Democratic letter; the Vanity Fair excerpts were not reviewed for this update, and the claims have not been independently confirmed.
Raskin wrote, “You cannot possibly serve as U.S. diplomat when at least five foreign governments—the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Israelis, the Russians, and even the Dutch—appear to have damning kompromat on you.” He asked for an accounting of Kushner's financial interests, including foreign government payments to accounts controlled by Kushner or an immediate family member. The release says Kushner has answered neither Raskin's April 2026 letter nor an August 2026 letter about his $120 million Albanian land purchase. No response from Kushner to the new letter appears in the sources reviewed.