Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have called for a hearing into what they call the foreign “influence peddling” of former President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The committee's top Democrats, Maryland's Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, and California's Robert Garcia pushed Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., in a letter Tuesday to “hold a hearing on Jared Kushner's apparent influence peddling and quid pro quo deals.” “Involves investments in exchange for formal actions and examination of the resulting threats to our national security.”
Coomer has led the so-far fruitless impeachment investigation of President Joe Biden, which has largely focused on his son Hunter Biden, but no wrongdoing on the part of the president has been proven so far.
While Hunter Biden has made millions from foreign business dealings, Republicans have failed to connect the president to those dealings, beyond some passing greetings with his business partners.
Mr. Raskin and Mr. Garcia were recently martyred The New York Times Mr. Kushner has reportedly been eyeing real estate deals with foreign governments through connections he built during his time as an adviser in the Trump administration, even as his father-in-law makes another run for the top job.
Coomer previously said that Kushner crossed the ethical line when he concluded a deal for large Saudi investments after leaving the White House.
“Unlike the Bidens, Jared Kushner has a legitimate business and a career as an executive that predates Donald Trump’s political career,” Coomer said in a statement. HuffPost. “Democrats' latest letter is part of their playbook for protecting President Biden from oversight.”
Mr. Coomer argued that Joe Biden used his time in government, including as vice president, to make large sums of money by allowing family members to use their well-known last name to make important deals.
But Trump owned companies that received millions from foreign governments during his presidency. Trump had a hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. between the White House and the US Capitol, where foreign officials were staying as an indirect way to pay tribute to Trump. Some argued that this violated the ban on US officials receiving foreign payments.
New York times The New York Times reported on March 15 that Kushner was close to closing real estate deals in Albania and Serbia, partly using contacts he apparently made during his time in the White House.
Kushner said he was working with Richard Grenell, who was acting director of national intelligence, ambassador to Germany, and special envoy to the Balkans during the Trump administration.
“No one is offering me deals,” Kushner said. New York times Advance this month. “I'm working fairly carefully, and these investments will create significant value for local communities, our partners and our investors.”
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