Kushner "pleased" Riyadh allowed him to invest in "Israel"

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In an interview with Sky News, former US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner revealed some details about how Saudi Arabia allowed him to invest in Israeli companies after his private investment fund received $2 billion from Riyadh. 

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Responding to a question regarding whether his good relationship with Saudi de facto Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is what landed him a $2 billion deal, he responded that "They made a decision to invest, and I am very pleased that they allowed us to invest in Israeli companies, to expand the work we have achieved in the Middle East," referring to the normalization agreements between certain Arab countries and "Israel".

"I wasn't hiding a secret when I was in government regarding that investment could be a driving force to bring people together," referring to the normalization process. "I wrote in my memoir about having received telephone calls from those countries about their desire to establish banking relations and the possibility of people traveling and flights, and we wanted Muslims to be able to go to Israel and visit the mosque."

In early June, the US House Committee announced an investigation into whether Kushner used his government position to get a $2 billion investment in his new private equity firm from a renowned Saudi Arabian wealth fund.

The committee looked into "whether your personal financial interests improperly influenced US foreign policy during the administration of your father-in-law, former President Trump."

In a statement, a spokesman for Kushner said, “While achieving six peace deals in the Middle East, Kushner fully abided by all legal and ethical guidelines both during and after his government service.”

“He is proud to be among many private sector stakeholders advancing connectivity between Americans, Israelis, and Arabs to encourage continued regional progress,” the statement continued.

That investment came less than six months after Kushner left the White House, where he had extensive authority over the administration's Middle East diplomacy efforts.

Despite MBS' human rights violations record and Saudi Arabia's aggression on Yemen, Kushner developed a close friendship with him during his stay in government. Despite the Public Investment Fund's worries about the planned $2 billion investment in Kushner's private equity firm, a fund board led by the Crown Prince chose to accept it anyhow.

Ethics experts have expressed worries about the Saudi fund's investment in Kushner's firm, which appears to account for the vast majority of its $2.5 billion in assets, according to documents. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has encouraged the Justice Department to "take a pretty close look" to see if Kushner broke any laws.

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