Jared Kushner, former US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, received a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The money was received by Kushner six months after he left the White House.

Kushner’s firm, Affinity Partners, received the fund despite a Saudi Arabia‘s $620 billion Public Investment Fund review panel’s concerns about “inexperience” and a due-diligence review that was “unsatisfactory in all aspects,” according to the New York Times. However, the concerns by the panel was overruled by the fund’s board — which Prince Mohammed sits on.

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Was it a potential payback from Prince Mohammed for defending the controversial Saudi Leader? Well, ethics experts believe so.

Kushner, who was a senior Middle East adviser to Trump, played a key role at the White House defending Prince Mohammed after US intelligence concluded he was responsible for the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. As a White House employee Kushner also helped broker $110 billion in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

On 2 October 2018, Khashoggi – a US-based journalist and critic of Saudi Arabia’s government – walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was murdered. Saudi officials said the journalist was killed in a “rogue operation”

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For more than two weeks, Saudi Arabia consistently denied any knowledge of Khashoggi’s death. Later the country admitted that the journalist died during a “fight” after resisting attempts to return him.

According to Bloomberg, Kushner met the crown prince in Saudi Arabia during a tour of the Middle East earlier in 2022.

“Ethics experts say that such a deal creates the appearance of potential payback for Mr. Kushner’s actions in the White House — or of a bid for future favor if Mr. Trump seeks and wins another presidential term in 2024,” the New York Times reported.

Trump had created close bonds with the Saudi rulers during his tenure at the White House and his possible bid for the presidency again could be of concern. 

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Angel investor Jason Calacanis posted on the Kushner deal, “They’re all grifters. … [W]e probably need to ban kids (including daughters and sons-in-law) of Presidents from being involved during their parent’s terms. If they’re qualified let them serve under the next president and earn their slots.”