Jared Kushner is an American businessman and investor. He founded the Florida-based private equity firm Affinity Partners in 2021, previously ran his family's real estate company Kushner Companies, and served as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump during Trump's first term, when he worked on Middle East policy including the Abraham Accords. Since 2025 he has taken part in U.S. diplomatic talks on Gaza, Iran and Ukraine.
Case
Congressional Democrats and ethics groups say Jared Kushner's investment firm, Affinity Partners, conflicts with his role in Middle East negotiations. Kushner, his lawyers and the White House dispute that. CNN found no indication his diplomacy directly affected the investments it reviewed.
Role at the time: Founder and chief executive of Affinity Partners, posting on his own X account
Response to this claim
Phoenix is not a defense company, Jared Kushner has no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells, and Affinity Partners does not own the defense companies CNN highlighted.
“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.”
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. Kushner disputes CNN's description of Phoenix, denies a role in its decisions and argues the investment is public and predates his return to public service, which argues the arrangement is proper, so we used Defended or excused. The closest competing labels are Challenged the characterization, which would fit if he had only disputed the "defense company" label, and Denied, which fits his statements of fact about Phoenix but not his argument that the arrangement is acceptable.
Role at the time: Founder and chief executive of Affinity Partners, interviewed with Steve Witkoff by CBS News's Lesley Stahl
Statement summary
In an extended interview with Lesley Stahl that CBS published on October 19, 2025, Kushner answered a question about whether his and Steve Witkoff's business with Gulf states blurs a line in their foreign-policy work. He said he had "volunteered my time" and that neither he nor Witkoff will be involved in awarding contracts or deciding who does business in Gaza afterward. He said, "What people call conflicts of interests, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships that we have throughout the world."
“I've volunteered my time to help the President and Steve to try to make progress. But Steve nor I will be involved in awarding contracts or figuring out who does business-- you know, in Gaza after. … What people call conflicts of interests, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships that we have throughout the world. If Steve and I didn't have these deep relationships, the deal we were able to get done, that freed these hostages would not have occurred.”
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. Kushner rejects the label and argues that his business relationships are what made the hostage deal possible, which argues the arrangement is proper, so we used Defended or excused. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, because he disputes what "people call" a conflict. It loses because he goes on to defend the relationships as an asset and commits not to take part in awarding Gaza contracts.
Statement dates: October 19, 2025 to October 2, 2026
Statement dates: October 19, 2025 to October 2, 2026
Statement dates: October 19, 2025 to October 2, 2026
