https://theintercept.com/2018/03/21/jared-kushner-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/
Kushner’s support for Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Qatar in the
Gulf crisis has raised questions about a possible conflict of interest.
Kushner backed the blockade
a month after Qatar’s ministry of finance rebuffed an attempt
by Kushner’s real estate firm, Kushner Companies, to extract financing
for the firm’s troubled flagship property at 666 Fifth Avenue.
In May, Trump traveled to Riyadh with Kushner,
where the famous glowing orb photo
was taken. In the wake of the meeting, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and a
handful of allied countries announced the blockade of rival Qatar,
accusing it of fomenting terror. The crisis continues today.
“We could not understand why the Trump administration was so firmly
taking the Saudis’ side in this dispute between the Saudis, the
Emiratis, and Qatar, because the United States has very important
interests in Qatar,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told George
Stephanopoulos, host of ABC’s “This Week,” after The Intercept reported
on Kushner Companies’ efforts to obtain financing from Qatar. Murphy was
referring to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, home of U.S. Central Command,
where thousands of U.S. troops are stationed.
“If the reason this administration put U.S. troops at risk in Qatar
was to protect the Kushners’ financial interests, then that’s all the
evidence you need to make some big changes in the White House,” Murphy
said.
MBS is in Washington this week. On Tuesday, he was warmly received by
Trump, who told reporters that the U.S.-Saudi relationship is “probably
the strongest it’s ever been.”
