Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project says there is "an enormous conflict of interest" in Kushner's fund-building
Jeff HauserFounder and executive director of the Revolving Door Project, quoted in Truthout
In a June 12, 2026 Truthout article, Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, said there is "an enormous conflict of interest" when someone who "had never been a money manager" before is "all of a sudden building massive funds based off a handful of foreign investors with an interest in buttering up the Trump administration". Elsewhere in the article he said it is not unprecedented for relatives or friends of presidents to influence U.S. diplomacy but that it is very susceptible to abuse and, he said, is being abused here.
Responding to
Jared Kushner's simultaneous roles as Special Envoy for Peace and chief executive of Affinity Partners, which has raised billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, create a glaring and incurable conflict of interest.
“There’s an enormous conflict of interest when you have somebody who had never been a money manager like this before, and who is all of a sudden building massive funds based off a handful of foreign investors with an interest in buttering up the Trump administration”
Reporting
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
Reporting
About this source
An article in the news outlet Truthout on Kushner's business and diplomacy, with quotations from Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project. The headline and framing are the outlet's; the quotation is attributed to Hauser, who spoke to Truthout.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Truthout's article describes Kushner's business and diplomacy and quotes Hauser on the unity of elected Republicans in not speaking about the Trump family's business dealings.
After the quotation
Kushner's lawyer Chad Mizelle told Reuters on September 28 that no critic has identified an applicable rule or regulation Kushner has violated. As of October 4, 2026, we did not find a response from Kushner to Hauser's remarks.
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. Hauser says the fund-building by someone working on Middle East diplomacy creates "an enormous conflict of interest", so we used Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because he also says elsewhere in the article that such influence by relatives or friends of presidents is not unprecedented. It loses because that observation puts the arrangement in historical context, and he goes on to say he thinks it is being abused here.
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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
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project says there is "an enormous conflict of interest" in Kushner's fund-building
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/4567-in-a-june-12-2026-truthout-article-jeff
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project says there is "an enormous conflict of interest" in Kushner's fund-building". First published: 2026-10-05. Last updated: 2026-10-05. https://disputeindex.com/events/4567-in-a-june-12-2026-truthout-article-jeff