CREW's president says Kushner "should also proactively divest from his firm, Affinity Partners"
Donald K. ShermanPresident of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, in a CREW statement
On February 20, 2026, the day after President Trump said he was making Kushner an envoy, Donald K. Sherman, president of CREW, said that given Affinity's "public dealings and investments in the very countries and conflicts" Kushner will work on, Kushner "should also proactively divest from his firm, Affinity Partners." He said the announcement means Kushner "will finally be subject to some ethics rules, instead of acting as a completely unchecked private citizen."
Responding to
CREW says that President Trump's February 19, 2026 designation of Jared Kushner as a special envoy requires him to file a public financial disclosure report within 30 days under federal ethics rules.
“Given his company’s public dealings and investments in the very countries and conflicts that he will apparently be working on directly, Kushner should also proactively divest from his firm, Affinity Partners. … If there is a silver lining to President Trump’s announcement, it is that Kushner will finally be subject to some ethics rules, instead of acting as a completely unchecked private citizen.”
Official statement
Original text
Original text
Where this statement fits
Does Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners conflict with his role in Middle East negotiations, as congressional Democrats and ethics groups say?
Jared Kushner founded the investment firm Affinity Partners in January 2021. Since 2025 he has taken part in U.S. diplomatic talks on Gaza, Iran and Ukraine. Congressional Democrats, the ethics group CREW and other critics say the two roles conflict. They point to the firm's funding from foreign governments, its stakes in Israeli companies and reports that it sought new capital while he negotiated. Kushner, his lawyers, Affinity and the White House dispute that. A CNN investigation published October 1, 2026 reported that Affinity is the largest shareholder in the Israeli insurer Phoenix Financial, which holds stakes in companies that supply Israel's military, and that CNN found no indication his diplomacy directly affected the investments it reviewed. Kushner replied on October 2 that Phoenix is not a defense company and that he has no role in its investment decisions. The White House says he works on a volunteer basis. As of October 4, 2026, we did not find a ruling or finding on the question from a court, agency or committee, and we could not locate a response from Kushner to two letters from Rep. Jamie Raskin.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
CREW's release the day after President Trump's February 19 remarks. It says the designation formalizes a role Kushner had been playing and will likely require a financial disclosure report, and it quotes CREW's president calling for Senate advice and consent, divestment from Affinity Partners and a security clearance.
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About this source
A letter from the ethics group CREW to the White House counsel, copied to the Office of Government Ethics, arguing that Kushner's February 19, 2026 designation as a special envoy triggers the federal rule requiring a public financial disclosure report within 30 days. The White House's position, given to CNN on October 1, is that Kushner conducts his diplomacy on a volunteer basis. As of October 4, 2026 we could not locate a public reply to the letter.
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About this source
The official record of President Trump's remarks at the Board of Peace's inaugural meeting. The remarks say 'we're making Jared an Envoy also'; the record's notes identify him as U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Jared C. Kushner. We did not find an appointment document. The White House's later description is that Kushner conducts his diplomatic engagements on a volunteer basis.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
President Trump said at the Board of Peace's inaugural meeting on February 19, 2026, "we're making Jared an Envoy also." CREW's release says the designation formalizes a role Kushner had been playing and will likely require a financial disclosure report.
After the quotation
On March 11, CREW wrote to the White House counsel urging collection of Kushner's financial disclosure report within 30 days. The White House's position, given to CNN on October 1, is that Kushner conducts his diplomacy on a volunteer basis. As of October 4, 2026, we could not locate a public reply to CREW's letter.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the proposition that Kushner's private business through Affinity, including its Israeli investments and Gulf capital, creates a conflict of interest with his role in U.S. Middle East negotiations. Sherman ties Affinity's dealings in the countries Kushner will handle to a call for divestment, which treats the overlap as a problem, so we used Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because he also welcomes the ethics rules that the designation brings. It loses because that welcome concerns the rules, and his call to divest criticizes the arrangement itself.
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More from this case
Read the full caseKushner says "Phoenix is not a defense company" and that he has "no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells"
“CNN published a deeply misleading story and headline suggesting that my diplomatic work in the Middle East somehow benefited investments in Israeli defense companies. But CNN’s own reporting says otherwise. Buried behind a paywall, it acknowledges: “CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed.” Phoenix is not a defense company. It is one of Israel’s largest publicly traded financial institutions, highly regulated and managing approximately $220 billion across thousands of investments. Think of Phoenix as the Israeli equivalent of Vanguard or Fidelity. It manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis. The savers don’t choose the individual investments, and neither do I. I have no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells. It has performed very well for Affinity and our investors, up more than five times since our initial investment. Affinity is an SEC-registered investment firm. Our investment in Phoenix is public and dates to before President Trump was re-elected and before I returned to public service. Affinity does not own the defense companies highlighted in CNN’s story. Those facts make for a less provocative headline, but a much more accurate story. Misleading stories will not distract me from the work President Trump asked me to do: help end wars, bring people together and pursue peace. That work is too important.”Read statement
The White House says Kushner's "personal business activities have nothing to do with his diplomatic engagements"
“Jared Kushner’s personal business activities have nothing to do with his diplomatic engagements, which he conducts on a volunteer basis at the President’s request”Read statement
CREW's chief ethics counsel tells CNN "the people profiting should not be the people making the decisions to make that policy"
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
“There are always people who profit from war or government policies. The difference is that the people profiting should not be the people making the decisions to make that policy. And that is what is happening here”Read statement
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- The Dispute Index
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- CREW's president says Kushner "should also proactively divest from his firm, Affinity Partners"
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4565-on-february-20-2026-the-day-after-president
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "CREW's president says Kushner "should also proactively divest from his firm, Affinity Partners"". First published: 2026-10-05. Last updated: 2026-10-05. https://disputeindex.com/events/4565-on-february-20-2026-the-day-after-president