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The Art of the Deal: Jared Kushner's Hacked Phone

69. Kushner worked in the White House during President Trump's first term. In conjunction with that government service, he filed financial disclosures pursuant to the Ethics Act—although, as with his current position, he did not draw a salary. His wife, Ivanka Trump, also worked in the White House and filed financial disclosures. Those financial disclosures reveal that Kushner and Ivanka Trump earned between $172 million and $640 million in non-governmental income while working in the White House.72

70. After the first Trump administration came to an end in 2021, Kushner launched an investment firm, A Fin Management LLC (known as "Affinity Partners" or "Affinity").

71. Within six months, Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from the Public Investment Fund ("PIF"), Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. As reported by the New York Times, this investment was made over the objections of a panel of PIF advisors regarding "'the inexperience of the Affinity Fund management'; the possibility that the kingdom would be responsible for 'the bulk of the investment and risk'; due diligence on the fledgling firm's operations that found them 'unsatisfactory in all aspects'; a proposed asset management fee that 'seems excessive'; and 'public relations risks' from Mr. Kushner's prior role as a senior adviser to his father-in-law, former President Donald J. Trump."73 According to this reporting, a July 2021 letter from PIF staff stated that "'[t]his investment aims to form a strategic relationship with the Affinity Partners Fund and its founder, Jared Kushner.'"74

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court:
(1) Declare that Kushner is unlawfully serving as an officer of the United States, in violation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution;
(2) Permanently enjoin Kushner from exercising the powers of an officer of the United States unless and until he is appointed and confirmed in accordance with the Appointments Clause;
(3) Permanently enjoin Witkoff, Wiles, Rubio, Hegseth, OSPM, EOP, WHO, the State Department, and the Department of Defense from facilitating or supporting Kushner exercising the powers of an officer of the United States;
(4) Issue permanent relief, including but not limited to injunctive and/or mandamus relief, directing Kushner to file all financial disclosures required by the Ethics Act for the time that he unconstitutionally served as an officer of the United States in violation of the Appointments Clause;

Kushner was overseen only by his father-in-law, who, according to four senior Trump administration officials—two national security advisors, a White House chief of staff, and a former CIA director—were unaware of any presidential authorization for Kushner to access a foreign government bank account.

Kushner was overseen only by his father-in-law, who, according to four senior Trump administration officials—two national security advisors, a White House chief of staff, and a former CIA director—were unaware of any presidential authorization for Kushner to access a foreign government bank account.

Kushner was overseen only by his father-in-law, [and] four senior Trump administration officials—two national security advisors, a White House chief of staff, and a former CIA director—[each say they] were unaware of any presidential authorization for Kushner to access a foreign government bank account.

And even assuming the Dutch did learn of some of this, the Dutch didn't learn all aspects of it, leaving unexplained what provenance there is for other parts of the story.

A shallow audit, as the Dutch tried while monitoring Kushner's iPhone, revealed nothing more than what appeared to be an Azerbaijani government–linked bank account that sent hundreds of millions of dollars to an account in Dubai. But there was another aspect of the Alpha account that the Dutch couldn't see or understand, one that helped reveal the secret purpose of the money. Kushner did not own the bank account at First Abu Dhabi Bank. He was a signatory for an account managed and owned by an Emirati charity.

So on the key allegation — that Jared had access to two secret bank accounts via which he was conducting his own covert operations — is really tenuous.

Plus, Cole seems to have taken denials this operation was approved as confirmation it existed.

In May 2023, a16z said it committed $500 million to its new focus on what it calls American Dynamism, which involves investments in homegrown companies in defense tech and other industries of strategic importance, such as Anduril Industries Inc. and SpaceX. Also in this portfolio is Flock Safety, which makes surveillance technology for police departments and commercial organizations. CEO Garrett Langley says no VCs wanted to get near Flock because of its third-rail mission, glossing over the fact that Y Combinator, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and five other institutional investors had backed the startup before a16z. "There was a realization that someone has to stand up and say the only way America is going to be a better place to live is via technology," Langley says, praising Andreessen and Horowitz. "They're willing to put their money where their mouth is."