Saudi Arabia can afford it. After all, it’s an investment.
The Washington Post reported, “The day after leaving the White House, Kushner created a company that he transformed months later into a private equity firm with $2 billion from a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.” WaPo noted that Trump and Kushner faced “unprecedented business challenges” at the time.
Last year, the New York Times reported that “those responsible for helping oversee the Saudi sovereign wealth fund were, to put it mildly, highly skeptical about giving Kushner’s new firm a $2 billion investment. Those concerns were understandable: The fund’s advisers rightly noted that Trump’s son-in-law had no relevant experience, and the firm’s operations were deemed ‘unsatisfactory in all aspects.'”
Why would bin Salman invest so much money in such a shaky enterprise? Well, maybe because “Kushner was responsible, at least in part, for helping shape the administration’s policy, making multiple trips to Saudi Arabia during his father-in-law’s term.” Now let’s check out his return on investment:
“When … bin Salman imprisoned other members of the royal family, Trump announced his support for the move. When the Saudis imposed a blockade on U.S. allies in Qatar, Trump endorsed this, too. When the U.S. had evidence of bin Salman approving the operation that killed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump boasted that he came to the crown prince’s rescue and shielded him from consequences. … What’s more, … in the months that followed, Trump’s golf courses began hosting tournaments for a Saudi fund-backed venture ….”
Does that look just a little bit corrupt? Read story here.
Related story: The hypocrisy of investigating Hunter Biden while turning a blind eye to Kushner and Trump (read story here). With Republicans, it’s all politics, all the time.
