House Democrats are requesting a hearing into the business dealings of former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, turning their focus to the former president’s son-in-law as Republicans pursue similar investigations into President Joe Biden’s son.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, along with Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), sent a letter on Tuesday asking top GOP officials on the committee to hold a hearing over allegations Kushner is pursuing new business deals overseas. Democrats are accusing the former White House official of influence peddling, noting the business activity coincides with former President Donald Trump clinching the GOP presidential nomination.
“This Committee cannot claim to be ‘investigating foreign nationals’ attempts to target and coerce high-ranking U.S. officials’ family members by providing money or other benefits in exchange for certain actions’ while continuing to ignore these matters,” the lawmakers wrote. “We therefore urge you to work with us to finally investigate Mr. Kushner’s receipt of billions of dollars from foreign governments in deals that appear to be quid pro quos for actions he undertook as senior White House adviser in Donald Trump’s Administration.”
The letter comes in response to a story from the New York Times earlier this month that reported Kushner was looking to close in on major real estate deals in Albania and Serbia, with Democrats questioning whether he leveraged relationships he built while working for the Trump administration.
Raskin and Garcia specifically cited an investment Kushner is reportedly considering on the site of the former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense, which Trump was allegedly eyeing before his presidency, according to the report. It’s not clear if Trump has any interest in Kushner’s possible deal.
“This is only the most recent example of Mr. Kushner’s pattern of profiting off of his time in the White House,” the lawmakers said.
The pair also pointed to accusations Kushner “leveraged his key governmental role shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Trump Administration to secure billions of dollars in investments from the sovereign wealth funds of Gulf monarchies.”
The request comes as Democrats have recently pressed House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) to drop his efforts to investigate Biden and instead turn his focus to the former president and his son-in-law for alleged influence peddling.
Comer said he had previously pledged to “work on influence peddling,” suggesting he would be willing to look into allegations against Kushner, who served as the senior adviser to the president in the Trump White House. However, Comer emphasized his investigation into Biden was still his main course of action.
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The lawmakers referenced that pledge from Comer in their letter, arguing Democrats on the committee “have repeatedly attempted to obtain the necessary information to examine Mr. Kushner’s business dealings.”
Republicans on the committee have pushed back on those efforts, though, arguing Kushner “has a career as a business executive that predates Donald Trump’s political career.”