Top House Oversight Democrat seeks answers about Kushner’s Israeli investment following CNN report

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A top Democratic lawmaker is seeking information on Jared Kushner’s financial investments following a CNN investigation last week that found his private equity firm is the largest shareholder in an Israeli company backing businesses involved in Israel’s military campaigns.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, sent Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners, a letter on Monday saying Democrats on the committee were “investigating the unprecedented and dangerous ways in which President Trump and his family have profited directly from their access to power.

“…I request detailed information about your business dealings in the Middle East to understand whether your significant financial gains have come at the cost of Americans’ safety and security, ” the California representative wrote.

The letter is yet another sign that House Democrats are poised to investigate President Donald Trump’s family members’ business dealings overseas and in the US, should they retake the majority in the midterm elections this fall.

An attorney for Kushner dismissed Garcia’s criticisms and sought to draw attention to the congressman’s own holdings in investments scrutinized in CNN’s report on Kushner – Phoenix Financial, an Israeli financial services firm which counts Affinity Partners as its biggest investor, and Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer.

“Rep. Garcia’s letter is a masterclass in irony: A member of Congress questioning a private citizen for having an interest in the same stock in which the member also holds an interest,” the attorney said in a statement to CNN. “Jared has no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells. But if that doesn’t matter to Rep. Garcia, he should begin by investigating himself.”

Garcia’s most recent disclosure forms indicate his pension plans are managed through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and California State Teachers Retirement System. Both plans hold stock in Phoenix Financials or Elbit Systems.

A spokesperson for Garcia said the congressman and the millions of other public employees in the pension plan don’t have any control over the fund and cannot opt out.

Kushner “makes millions with no accountability all while he travels the Middle East on behalf of his father in law,” said Sara Guerrero, Garcia’s spokesperson.

CNN’s investigation raised questions about potential conflicts of interest between Kushner’s volunteer role as a peace envoy to the Middle East, and his firm’s financial investments. Kushner’s attorney did not address his client’s role as a negotiator on behalf of the Trump administration.

Photo Illustration by Jason Lancaster/CNN/Getty Images

How Jared Kushner’s firm’s investment in an Israeli company could be a major conflict of interest

As part of the review into Kushner’s financial holdings, CNN used Israeli financial transparency laws to trace investments made by Phoenix Financial, a Tel Aviv-based firm that Kushner’s Affinity Partners doubled its stake in last year, shortly before Trump returned to the Oval Office. CNN’s reporting specifically excluded Phoenix’s investments through retirement accounts and focused on insurance holdings instead.

Those records, which include only some of Phoenix’s holdings, show Phoenix has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Elbit Systems. Phoenix also holds stakes in at least eight other companies providing equipment for the Israeli military ranging from drones and warships to demolition machinery, CNN found.

All nine companies identified by CNN saw their stock value climb last year, with many stating the war in Gaza had driven demand for their businesses.

Affinity doesn’t directly hold a stake in the nine companies CNN identified – but it does stand to reap rewards when Phoenix makes a profit. Kushner described Phoenix as Affinity’s “best investment” in September 2025.

CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed. Kushner’s attorney told CNN his client has “never participated in or directed Phoenix’s decisions” on where to invest.

A day after CNN’s reporting, Kushner posted a rare response on X, calling CNN’s story “deeply misleading.” Kushner did not point to any inaccuracies in the piece in his post.

“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,” Kushner wrote on X.

Garcia referenced Kushner’s social media post, writing “despite your denial of improper behavior, the fact remains that you have been allowed to hold a position of enormous power and responsibility, exempt from financial disclosure requirements and outside oversight.”

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In addition to CNN’s report, the New York Times published a story detailing additional “intermingling” between Kushner’s volunteer diplomatic role and his businesses, as it related to the war in Ukraine.

US talks with Russia to end that war have expanded to include a multibillion-dollar deal selling oil assets from one of Russia’s biggest energy companies to a group of investors with ties to Steve Witkoff and Kushner, the two main negotiators for the Trump administration, according to the Times.

A spokeswoman for Witkoff told the Times he “has no conflict of interest or financial stake in this matter” and said his work for the US administration is undertaken “at his own expense.”

Kushner’s attorney did not respond to CNN’s inquiry about this reporting.

Garcia and other Democrats have for years demanded answers from the White House and Trump’s family about concerns over “apparent influence peddling and quid pro quo deals ” and whether foreign money is being used “ to buy access to the President and influence American policy. ”

In March, Garcia and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden specifically requested information from the White House about Affinity Partners’ fundraising in the Middle East – Kushner secured a $2 billion investment for his firm from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in 2021— in light of Kushner’s government work.

Neither Kushner nor Affinity Partners responded to the congressmen’s earlier request.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee in the House but the minority party requests from lawmakers on the committee are voluntary and can be ignored without legal consequences. Subpoenas can only be authorized by the committee chair or by committee vote. If the balance of power shifts as a result of the midterm elections in November, Democrats would be able to open an official investigation.

After Republicans won the House in 2023, the Oversight Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the Ways and Means Committee opened similar investigations into Hunter Biden’s business dealings overseas and alleged he was profiting from his father’s presidency.

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上周 CNN 的一项调查发现，贾里德·库什纳的私募股权公司是一家以色列公司的最大股东，而这家以色列公司支持参与以色列军事行动的企业。此后，一位民主党高级议员正在寻求有关贾里德·库什纳金融投资的信息。

众议院监督委员会资深成员罗伯特·加西亚议员周一向库什纳的投资公司 Affinity Partners 发出了一封信，信中称委员会的民主党人正在“调查特朗普总统及其家人以史无前例且危险的方式直接利用其权力获利”。

“……我要求提供有关您在中东的商业交易的详细信息，以了解您的重大经济利益是否是以牺牲美国人的安全为代价的，”这位加州代表写道。

这封信再次表明，如果众议院民主党人在今年秋季的中期选举中重新夺回多数席位，他们将对唐纳德·特朗普总统的家人在美国国内外的商业交易展开调查。

库什纳的律师驳斥了加西亚的批评，并试图将人们的注意力引向这位国会议员在 CNN 关于库什纳的报道中受到审查的投资——菲尼克斯金融公司（一家以色列金融服务公司，其最大投资者为 Affinity Partners）和以色列最大的武器制造商埃尔比特系统公司。

“加西亚议员的信简直是讽刺的典范：一位国会议员竟然质疑一位普通公民持有与他本人持有相同股票的利益，”这位律师在给CNN的一份声明中说道。“贾里德无权决定凤凰公司买卖哪些股票。但如果加西亚议员对此毫不在意，他应该先反省一下自己。”

加西亚最新的披露表格显示，他的养老金计划由加州公共雇员退休系统和加州教师退休系统管理。这两个计划都持有菲尼克斯金融公司或埃尔比特系统公司的股票。

加西亚的发言人表示，这位国会议员和养老金计划中的数百万其他公职人员对该基金没有任何控制权，也不能选择退出。

加西亚的发言人萨拉·格雷罗说：“库什纳赚取了数百万美元，却无需承担任何责任，同时他还代表他的岳父在中东地区四处奔波。”

CNN的调查引发了人们对库什纳作为中东和平特使的志愿角色与其公司金融投资之间潜在利益冲突的质疑。库什纳的律师没有回应其客户作为特朗普政府谈判代表的角色。

图片由 Jason Lancaster/CNN/Getty Images 提供

贾里德·库什纳的公司对一家以色列公司的投资可能构成重大利益冲突

作为对库什纳金融资产审查的一部分，CNN利用以色列金融透明法追踪了凤凰金融（Phoenix Financial）的投资。凤凰金融是一家总部位于特拉维夫的公司，库什纳旗下的Affinity Partners去年增持了该公司股份，而就在不久之后，特朗普重返白宫。CNN的报道特意排除了凤凰金融通过退休账户进行的投资，而是重点关注其保险投资。

这些记录（仅包含菲尼克斯的部分持股）显示，菲尼克斯已向埃尔比特系统公司投资数亿美元。CNN还发现，菲尼克斯至少持有其他八家公司的股份，这些公司为以色列军方提供从无人机、军舰到爆破机械等各种设备。

CNN 评选出的这九家公司去年股价均有所上涨，许多公司表示，加沙战争推动了对其业务的需求。

Affinity并未直接持有CNN所列九家公司的股份，但当Phoenix盈利时，Affinity将从中获益。库什纳在2025年9月称Phoenix是Affinity的“最佳投资”。

CNN没有发现任何迹象表明库什纳作为外交官的行为直接影响了所审查的投资项目。库什纳的律师告诉CNN，他的客户“从未参与或指导凤凰投资公司”的投资决策。

在 CNN 报道发布一天后，库什纳罕见地在 X 社交媒体上发表了一篇回应文章，称 CNN 的报道“严重误导”。库什纳在文章中并未指出报道中的任何不实之处。

“误导性的报道不会分散我完成特朗普总统交给我的工作：帮助结束战争、促进人民团结、追求和平。这项工作太重要了，”库什纳在X网站上写道。

加西亚引用了库什纳的社交媒体帖子，写道：“尽管你否认有不当行为，但事实仍然是，你被允许担任拥有巨大权力和责任的职位，却不受财务披露要求和外部监督的约束。”

安娜·莫尼梅克/盖蒂图片社

除了 CNN 的报道外，《纽约时报》还发表了一篇报道，详细描述了库什纳的志愿外交角色与他的商业活动之间在乌克兰战争中存在的更多“交集”。

据《泰晤士报》报道，美国与俄罗斯为结束战争而进行的谈判已经扩大，其中包括一项数十亿美元的交易，将俄罗斯最大的能源公司之一的石油资产出售给与特朗普政府的两名主要谈判代表史蒂夫·威特科夫和库什纳有关联的一群投资者。

维特科夫的一位女发言人告诉《泰晤士报》，他“在此事上没有任何利益冲突或经济利益”，并表示他为美国政府所做的工作都是“自费”进行的。

库什纳的律师没有回应 CNN 对此报道的询问。

多年来，加西亚和其他民主党人一直要求白宫和特朗普的家人就“明显的权钱交易和利益交换”以及外国资金是否被用来“购买接触总统的机会并影响美国政策”等问题作出解释。

今年 3 月，加西亚和俄勒冈州参议员罗恩·怀登特别要求白宫提供有关 Affinity Partners 在中东筹款的信息——库什纳在 2021 年从沙特阿拉伯主权财富基金为其公司获得了 20 亿美元的投资——鉴于库什纳的政府工作。

库什纳和 Affinity Partners 均未回应国会议员们早前的请求。

众议院监督与政府改革委员会是众议院的主要调查委员会，但少数党议员向该委员会提出的要求是自愿的，即使提出要求，也可以被忽略而不会产生法律后果。传票只能由委员会主席或经委员会投票授权发出。如果11月的中期选举导致权力平衡发生变化，民主党人将能够启动正式调查。

2023 年共和党赢得众议院后，监督委员会、司法委员会和筹款委员会对亨特·拜登在海外的商业交易展开了类似的调查，并指控他利用其父的总统职位获利。