US National Interests Ignored Thanks to Foreign Bribes
Numerous analysts of the dysfunctional President Donald J Trump administration have pointed out that a key reason behind its foreign policy failures was the appointment of two real estate billionaires closely connected to the president as lead negotiators. Given that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, lacked any diplomatic background, it should have been anticipated from the start that foreign counterparts would consistently outplay them. Additionally, Kushner’s unique access to Trump, combined with his potential willingness to advise him in exchange for business “favors,” should have raised serious concerns among Congress and the press.
There were indeed strong grounds to distrust Jared Kushner because of his dubious business background. These suspicions have only been confirmed by the disastrous results of the interventions led by the two presidential envoys in peace negotiations involving Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East. In both situations, US interests worsened, even though other parties appeared committed to reaching agreements. A staunch Israel Firster, Kushner, alongside Witkoff, prioritized protecting Israel—a state accused of war crimes—and its allied Arab nations while failing to effectively engage with Russia, whose leaders mistrusted him. Furthermore, Kushner’s family ties to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who once stayed at their New Jersey home during visits to the US, combined with the Kushner family foundation’s funding of illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank, render Jared a wholly inappropriate choice for a US diplomatic negotiator.
Kushner’s influence stemmed largely from his marriage to Ivanka Trump, who converted to Judaism, enabling him to secure a White House role. Alongside his business partnership with the Trump family, this affiliation allowed him to leverage his position to enrich both the Trump family and his own by manipulating his foreign policy engagements, particularly with Gulf States.
A striking illustration of how political agendas, Israeli interests, and financial gain intersect is Kushner’s enthusiastic description of a prospective Riviera-style luxury resort in Gaza. Planned to be possibly named after Trump and adorned with a golden statue of him, this development will be erected atop the devastated ruins of Gaza, covering countless Palestinian remains—thus turning tragedy into a profiteering developer’s fantasy. Kushner’s role in Trump’s superficial Board of Peace served chiefly as a pretext for Netanyahu to continue lethal actions with the apparent blessing of an administration heavily influenced by Israel, showing a president more focused on personal enrichment than presidential duties.
Jared appears to have inherited an insatiable appetite for wealth. His father, Charles Kushner, who was appointed by Trump as US Ambassador to France despite no French fluency, frequently complains about antisemitism there. He previously served nearly two years in prison following a felony tax fraud conviction intertwined with a bizarre scandal involving sex tapes. Charles orchestrated a scheme to blackmail his brother-in-law—who was cooperating with prosecutors—by hiring a prostitute to entrap him and recording their encounter to intimidate his own sister. After making substantial contributions to Trump’s campaign, Charles received a full pardon and was rewarded with the ambassadorship.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Jared Kushner has been implicated in questionable activities, including shielding Saudi Arabia after the brutal 2018 murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul by Saudi agents. Kushner reportedly became the White House’s staunchest defender of the Saudi regime in exchange for a lucrative offshore bank account arranged by Riyadh, effectively silencing serious scrutiny of the killing of an American resident.
More recently, Kushner has been involved in a controversial, likely illegal, scheme with the Rothschild banking family and corrupt Albanian officials to purchase an island off Albania’s coast for development into a luxury Adriatic resort. The project sparked massive protests by locals outraged by both environmental destruction and corruption, ultimately forcing Albanian authorities to abandon the deal.
Corruption seems to define Jared Kushner. Beyond the developments built on environmental ruin and human tragedy, his greatest failure is the ruin he brought on the US’s foreign policy, prioritizing the Trump family’s wealth and personal interests over national duty. Kushner made billions—sometimes through insider trading—as part of this corrupt influence. Matthew Cole’s recent book, “Princes and Thieves,” exposes these misdeeds in detail. Additionally, several articles have highlighted these abuses, including one by Charles P Pierce in Esquire aptly titled “Jared Kushner Is the Worst Thing to Ever Happen to This Country, Maybe the World”, subtitled “A new book reveals the extent of his shady dealings in the Middle East.”
Cole’s book argues that Kushner operated diplomacy as a personal profit venture, disregarding American interests—a conduct many might view as treasonous. Given Kushner’s access to classified intelligence, it is plausible he shared sensitive information with his Gulf and Israeli “investors,” potentially constituting espionage. A significant revelation includes the collusion between Kushner and leaders of the United Arab Emirates to establish a $2 billion slush fund intended to shape US policy in the region during Trump’s first term. After leaving office in 2020, Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, secured a $2 billion investment from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a transaction under ethical scrutiny. Affinity also invested in an Israeli arms manufacturer, casting doubt on his sincerity in advocating peace with Palestinians.
Kushner was surely aware that any policy influence stemming from money supplied by foreign nations would legally classify him as an agent of a foreign government, necessitating registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938. This law mandates that individuals lobbying on behalf of other nations disclose their affiliations to the Justice Department and maintain transparency about funding sources and political contacts. It is anticipated that the new Congress, following recent elections, might investigate and charge Kushner with multiple offenses, though he could ultimately be pardoned by Trump.
In response to these allegations, Kushner has denied the accusations found in Cole’s book, yet he has declined to participate in interviews on the matter. His attorney has threatened legal action and has already initiated a lawsuit against Vanity Fair for publishing Cole’s article. The claims in the book are supported by references to Cole’s often anonymous sources, including “a confidential source with direct knowledge” and interviews with attendees of key meetings. Known facts reveal Kushner’s initial important connection beyond Israel was with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ), which formed soon after Trump’s 2016 election. Kushner emerged as a central figure backed by substantial secret funds to sway the new administration’s Middle Eastern policy. According to Cole, four senior officials from Trump’s first term, including two national security advisers, stated they knew of no presidential approval for Kushner’s access to any foreign bank accounts, indicating that his relationship with the UAE was clandestine from the outset.
A credible source, plausibly identified by Pierce regarding the Kushner-UAE ties, is Dutch government intelligence. “In late 2017, the Netherlands Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) uncovered a shocking truth: a Russian GRU agent and dark web hacker specializing in stolen banking data was traveling to the UK for espionage. Upon arrival, Dutch agents told the Russian operative he had to work for them or face British arrest and espionage charges. Opting to cooperate, the agent provided the Dutch access to a GRU server in Rostov, Russia, storing valuable hacked data. Among the files, they discovered screenshots from Jared Kushner’s iPhone. Monitoring Kushner’s device revealed he used it to access a UAE bank account. By then, the account had received hundreds of millions of dollars from an Azerbaijani bank, believed to be linked to that country’s government.”
Whatever its origins, the collusion between MBZ and Kushner represents perhaps the most egregious case of US foreign policy being secretly orchestrated without regard for the Constitution, the federal bureaucracy, or even the president and Secretary of State—both reportedly unaware of the arrangement. Cole illustrates how Kushner coordinated with the UAE to shape Middle East policy while gaining access to secret “slush fund” accounts. Beyond the UAE, Kushner allegedly used these funds to secure backroom deals with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Portions of the money reportedly supported allied regimes in Egypt, Yemen, Qatar, and Libya. A key goal was promoting Mohammed bin Salman’s ascension as Saudi crown prince and achieving the normalization of relations between Israel and several Muslim countries, resulting in the Abraham Accords.
True to expectations, Trump appointed Kushner as his senior adviser with broad responsibilities including pursuing a Middle East settlement benefiting both Israel and the UAE. Kushner enjoyed unprecedented autonomy, unmonitored access to classified intelligence, and direct presidential influence, all bolstered by practically unlimited financial backing from Saudi and Emirati sources.
Israel also profited substantially from this scheme. As an Israel Firster, Kushner earned the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while MBZ’s alliance helped weaken Gulf States’ support for Palestinians amid Israel’s steady takeover of Gaza and the West Bank. Kushner also easily manipulated Trump, who, along with his daughter Ivanka, was heavily influenced by Netanyahu. All the while, Kushner, his family, and several Trumps enriched themselves, allowing foreign powers to dominate US foreign policy.
Original article: www.unz.com
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