David Corn: Why the Hell Isn't Jared Kushner's $2 Billion Saudi Payment a Big Scandal?

[babylonsister]

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/04/why-the-hell-isnt-jared-kushners-2-billion-saudi-payment-a-big-scandal/

2 hours ago
Why the Hell Isn’t Jared Kushner’s $2 Billion Saudi Payment a Big Scandal?
Anyone remember Billygate?
David Corn


snip//

Billygate is a good point of reference when assessing what could be called Jaredgate. On April 10, the New York Times revealed that Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser of the 45th president, secured a $2 billion investment for his new private equity firm, Affinity Partners, from a fund controlled by the Saudi crown prince—even after advisers to the Saudi fund raised serious objections to the investment. The screening panel for the Saudi fund had cited “the inexperience of the Affinity Fund management”; an “unsatisfactory in all aspects” due diligence report; a proposed asset management fee that seemed “excessive”; and “public relations risks.” Yet the panel was overruled by the fund’s board, which is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s autocratic de facto leader, who, according to US intelligence, green-lit the operation that resulted in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

It’s damn hard to not see the $2 billion investment as either a payoff for past services rendered or a preemptive bribe should Trump manage to regain the White House. And it could be both. It’s a wonder that the disclosure of this deal hasn’t created more of a fuss and prompted congressional investigations. (Imagine what Republicans and Fox News would be doing if Hunter Biden received $2 billion from a Ukrainian government leader who was responsible for the gruesome murder of an American resident.) A 10-figure payment to a relative of a former president who is essentially the current (though undeclared) GOP frontrunner in the 2024 contest and possibly the next inhabitant of the White House is a major scandal.

Or it should be.

snip//

Whatever the past or future quid pro quos, if any, this deal stinks and demands congressional scrutiny. Allowing foreign authoritarians to shower billions of dollars upon family members of past, present, or future presidents is ethically wrong but carries a greater threat. As Ali Al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, wrote in the Washington Post, “The prospect of a dictator using his deep pockets to wield influence at the highest levels of the U.S. political system should be cause for serious concern and targeted action. Not all attacks on American democracy will take the shape of violent insurrections—the corruption of the Saudi-Kushner deal is an attack on democracy, too.”

snip//

The Trump cosmos is full of grift and scandal. And what’s $2 billion compared to an attempt to overturn an election and incite violent insurrection? But in a world of never-ending Trump sleaze, this shady venture does stand out as especially egregious. At the very least, Kushner deserves the Billygate treatment.

[walkingman]

1. "White collar crime" is a non-issue in America and has been for decades if not centuries.

Were it not for Kushner being in the political cloud we more than likely would not even know about it. An example is the billions that were falsely collected during the Covid stimulus plan.

No, in America the guy stealing food, selling cigarettes, petty theft, or smoking a joint is considered much more dangerous individual that a greedy bastard.

Makes you wish there really was a HELL.

[Mosby]

16. What laws were broken? Be specific.

[walkingman]

39. The definition of "legal" is controlled by the people or orgs with the deepest pockets.

[Scrivener7]

42. What laws were supposedly broken by Hunter's laptop? Yet that is wall to wall news.

And I'm not a lawyer, but usually when the smell test stinks this bad, the lawyers can verbalize what laws gave been broken. I am guessing they'd be able to do so in this case.

[Grasswire2]

57. bazinga! nt

[William Gustafson]

60. There is no laptop.....

Has anyone seen this laptop...? a picture, anything to prove there is a laptop...
Rudy has only a hard drive, which he has copied more times than Carter has pills.....
He turned a copy over to the FBI and even they knew this was crap....
They found Metadata that was downloaded on this hard drive a year after they said they found this in the Blind man computer repair shop...
Rudy also said that there was child porn on this, and he has copied it and gave to his friends... How is this not a felony, copied child porn and giving it to other people?....
With all that these dipshits have said is on the Hard Drive, no one has actually seen the laptop because it does not exist!!!
IT's a lie.... always has been.

[Scrivener7]

62. Yes, but it's a lie the media spreads 24/7. Whereas Jared's 2Billion gift from the Saudis

is a fact that gets no coverage at all.

[cilla4progress]

31. Totally AGREE!

[whathehell]

36. A "non issue"?..You mean for the Enron guys,

the Saving & Loan Scandal's Keating Five and folks like Bernie Madoff?

White collar crime may be under-prosecuted relative to street crime, but that's partly because evidence gathering is much harder (DNA and Fingerprinting being irrelelevant) but calling it "a non-issuue in America" wildly overstates it.

[walkingman]

40. Too complicated huh?? Sounds like a good excuse to me.

[whathehell]

74. No one said "too" complicated, but surely you must realize

that prosecuting a Deutsche Bank imoney laundering scheme is more complex and time consuming than prosecuting a local.stick up job...Just sayin.

[certainot]

71. white collar crime is a big deal if 1500 radio stations make it so......

if it's a democrat, for instance

been like that for 30 years

[uponit7771]

2. K&R, because the DOJ isn't giving it the air Hunter Biden's laptop is getting by them.

[Ohio Joe]

4. The DOJ is not giving 'air' to anything...

That the right wing press is making mountains out of Durham's filings when there is nothing there, does not make it that the DOJ is giving it 'air'... The press is. The fact is, not the press nor even people here seem all that interested in what the DOJ is doing with the case:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216597309

Some do, but I admit I was surprised how few showed any interest... I guess it's just easier to blame the DOJ instead of the culprits.

[Budi]

11. K & R

[gab13by13]

12. John Durham is a special prosecutor

working for the DOJ. Bill Barr appointed him and put guard rails in so that he could not be fired.

There is nothing stopping Merrick Garland to appoint a special prosecutor to look into Jared Kushner.

[Ohio Joe]

13. Why would he need to?

The investigation seems to be going fine

[uponit7771]

19. There is no pubic DOJ investigation into Jared kushner like there is into Hunter Biden

[Ohio Joe]

22. Durham's investigation is not into Hunter...

It just likes to try and bring up the bogus laptop in filings.

It is true that we do not know for certain the investigation into what is/was going on with Barrack involves Kushner as the other two people not yet indicted are only listed as unindicted co-conspirator-1 and -2. The investigation is still ongoing and I think emptywheel makes an excellent case for Kushner to be one of them (and if you read deeper, Bannon as the other). I know it's a lot to read through and digest but I really recommend it.

[uponit7771]

18. This is false on its face. The DOJ **IS** investigating Hunter Biden

[Ohio Joe]

23. Yes, there is a 2+ year old investigation that is going nowhere...

That is still not the DOJ giving it 'air', it is still the press giving it.

[uponit7771]

37. Not the point, the DOJ investigating MAGA made up allegations with no iota of violation of law ...

... behind them gives the allegations the air of truth.

"well lets see ..." or "what does he have to hind ..." is NOT a reason to investigate anyone.

There's usually a probable cause for an investigation of any kind here the DOJ has ... ***NONE*** ... and its disgusting to see them involved.

[Ohio Joe]

41. TFG and Barr started the investigation...

If President Biden or the DOJ stopped it once he took office, it would have created an even bigger deal of it. Cries of 'cover up' would be screamed out forever. Letting it die out of it's own accord is the only option. But hey... I get it... Yet another thing repugs did that we can blame on the Biden administration.

[uponit7771]

43. True, the right thing for DOJ to do would be to end it because it was PURLEY 100% political.

If President Biden or the DOJ stopped it once he took office, it would have created an even bigger deal of it. Cries of 'cover up' would be screamed out forever. Letting it die out of it's own accord is the only option. But hey... I get it... Yet another thing repugs did that we can blame on the Biden administration.

So the DOJ doesn't mind looking politically partisan keeping up an investigation with ZERO probable cause for it beginning to satisfy the marginations of the politically partisan?

Damned if they do, damned if they don't ... might as well do the right damn thing no?

tia

[Ohio Joe]

45. They are not being partisan

That is the point. They are letting an investigation that will go nowhere play out. It only becomes partisan if they stop it.

Most people don’t know the first thing about the investigation but if it were stopped all of those people would think coverup. Self inflicted wounds are the worst kind. It is far better to let the cultists yell ‘ahh ha’ every six months because of right wing media and it be yet another nothing burger rather than shoot ourselves in the face.

Fortunately, the President and his administration understand this and ignore the calls for self mutilation.

[uponit7771]

46. 100% text book partisan investigating false allegations by MAGA with no probable cause for ...

... for an investigation to start due to no laws being broken.

You're saying "letting an investigation ..." there SHOULD BE NO investigation to start !!!

There's nothing there to even start it !!!

Police CAN NOT come to you and say we're investigating you to see if we find some thing ... that's against the law on its face

[Ohio Joe]

47. You are blaming the Biden Administration for what TFG did...

And demanding they make it worse... A foolish move. i'm glad they have more sense than to listen.

[uponit7771]

48. This is also false, I'm blaming the DOJ for starting the investigating in the first place ...

... and not ending it knowing damn well there's no laws being broken.

That's not blaming an administration I'm blaming the institution which right now is doing the wrong thing for the wrong reason.

[Ohio Joe]

49. You are determined to have them cause a self inflicted wound on Biden...

I don't know why but I'm done here.

[uponit7771]

51. The DOJ doesn't "belong" to the Biden admin, that's Trump thinking man. The DOJ is supposed to

... the peoples justice department not Trumps, Obama's or Biden's

There's never a bad time to start doing the right thing,

No one said end the investigation in the dumbest way possible

[lindysalsagal]

3. Because the GQP owns the media. Next question.

Remember Bush 2.0? Didn't go after him, either.

[smirkymonkey]

5. It infuriates me that it isn't.

That scandal and thousands more. It is sickening how much they get away with.

[usaf-vet]

15. What type of clearance (TOP SECRET) has degrees I believe. What could Jared and sell?

Does anyone understand the levels of security clearances possible?

Please enlighten the rest of us. Thanks

[world wide wally]

6. Who the fuck gets 2 billion dollars for anything?

[Pepsidog]

24. Failed NY real estate investor, dummy JarJar who paid the most ever for comm real estate in NY. From

what I read he was so underwater with the 666 building that the recommendation was to demolish it and build new. But that is JarJar a true boy wonder, fixer of all, savior of the Middle East and confidant to oppressive rulers who kill, torture, and oppress women and other countries.

[OMGWTF]

29. It's the 666 building fer kreistsakes!

[calimary]

56. Seems appropriate, somehow.

Considering who his father-in-law is. Those numbers fit.

[LogicFirst]

7. While three policemen arrest an 8 yo for shoplifting a bag of Doritos.

[Ray Bruns]

8. Why the Hell Isn't Jared Kushner's $2 Billion Saudi Payment a Big Scandal?

Because:
1. Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
2. Hunter Biden's laptop.
3. People's Convoy.
4. Some unqualified moron in Florida made a ruling that we don't have to wear masks anymore.
5. Gas prices were high.
6. Hillary's emails.
7. Benghazi.

Did I miss anything?

[OMGWTF]

30. The most important thing: IOKIYAR

They get away with murder. In the literal sense.

[whathehell]

75. Would you please remind some of us what that acronym stands for?

[FoxNewsSucks]

68. 8. Another caravan with hordes of dirty migrants swarming the border

That still gets coverage on Fox every day. And that's exactly the way they make their sheeple perceive it.

Illegal, dirty, disease-ridden, criminal invaders. Coming to take their jobs and collect welfare.

[MagickMuffin]

9. Perhaps Jared Kushner the Saudi loving UnAmerican is buying them off to lay off the story?

That would be my guess. Jared Kushner bought the media.

[2naSalit]

10. K&R

[dalton99a]

14. No shit.

[Marthe48]

17. Because who owns the media and media outlets?

It is easier and easier to see that the people in control scratch each other's backs and don't publish what they don't want people to know.

[Pepsidog]

20. So what's a couple billion dollars between buddies? A billion here a billion there pretty soon you

have some real money. Poor Jared is looking for 7 billion and only has $500 million raised without the Saudi money. And look just like he wasn’t Harvard material, the Saudi’s are saying it’s too risky to give this much money to a dummy like Jared. Here is a guy that paid the most money ever for commercial real estate in NY which is essentially now a year down. JarJar thinks he is smart but is just a member of the lucky sperm club, a guy who never seems to fail because others prop him up. The dangerous part is that JarJar thinks he is smartest guy in the room.

[jaxexpat]

21. Absolutely. I recall well when a sitting president had to speak about his brother's alchoholism.....

repeatedly in response to the press' most "important" questions regarding Billy's antics and Secret Service costs and how embarrassing that a PRESIDENT had such a family, what was the neighborhood coming to? It was front page stuff for months, Scandal city USA, Democrats just aren't house trained, etc., ad nauseum.

But when it came to the obvious grifting from the first son-in-law, crickets. The press literally screamed total silence and ...er ...amnesia......I think...uh....it's all a little fuzzy and they were feeling, collectively and in concert......a little woozy.. Someone was hitting the press on the head, causing them to suffer from "A-list" amnesia, and they were forgetting to talk or inquire about the unbelievable and inexplicable transfer of wealth's bounty into the 1st SIL's coffers.

" It's good to be king."

[Novara]

32. Y'all should know by now that it's OK if you're a republican

IOKIYAR

Republicans can get away with $2 billion bribes but if a democrat's grandma sneezes, we'll have to have 11 hearings about it.

[diane in sf]

27. Because main stream media is owned by the very rich and they want low taxes, no matter

how badly it trashes the overall economy. So the continually push Republican propaganda.

[Turbineguy]

33. It's like an important message

on a wall of post-it notes.

It blends into the background.

[onecaliberal]

34. Because they're all bought and paid for. Justice is for you and me but not for the rich fucks.

[LymphocyteLover]

35. It seems like if the GOP doesn't care about it or ignores it, it just doesn't become a scandal

no matter how bad it is.

Am I wrong?

[Hassler]

38. Duh, IOKIYAR

[Achilleaze]

44. Republican grifters are special

They have the support of their Party

[mnmoderatedem]

50. because Hunter Biden's laptop

because Hillary's emails.

because Benghazi.

because Obama's birth certificate

because Monica Lewinsky

because the Clinton Foundation

because Whitewater.

I'm sure I am leaving some out, but you get the point.

[Evolve Dammit]

52. Because MSM doesn't care when Repukes commit anything. They are immune from scrutiny, which

tells you how fucked we truly are.

[deminks]

53. It's been reported that the original figure was $10 bil

2 bil may well have been just a down payment for future services.

[Rocknation]

54. Because

Hunter Biden's laptop


Rocknation

[Slammer]

55. 2 cents

"Why the Hell Isn't Jared Kushner's $2 Billion Saudi Payment a Big Scandal?"

Mainly because is isn't a $2 billion payment.

As noted in the rest of the article, it's a $2 billion dollar investment which Kushner is totally unqualified to manage.

But teaching yourself to manage money by experimenting with someone else's money is less controversial than someone paying you $2 billion. And rightly so.

If we want to get people riled about what's happening, we need to be honest about what's happening rather than building up a momentary false outrage then immediately dashing it for anyone who reads the article.

You never want to raise expectations then immediately show that whatever you're trying to build up outrage about is a nothing-burger compared to the expectations which you set.

[Bettie]

58. Because the media chooses not to cover it

and the DOJ and apparently, others think it isn't a big deal.

[Praek3]

59. Make Him Pay

I demand to see an accounting of my taxpayer dollars used by Kushner for this Saudi grift.

I want to see a copy of the invoices for his travel expenses, Secret Service expenses, phone expenses, etc. pertaining to his trips to secure this grift on the American taxpayer dime.

Even more importantly I want to see copies of Jarvanka's payments for reimbursing us. This is outright grand larceny otherwise.

[Emile]

61. And it's more current than Hunter's laptop.

[Achilleaze]

63. Indeed

[allegorical oracle]

64. $2 billion is a HUGE sum, a sum that bails out the Kushner family's debt on the NYC "666"

building investment. It should be investigated.

[Scrivener7]

66. Oh, no! This is not for that. Qatar ALREADY bailed out 666. WHILE tfg was in office.

But nothing to see here.

[BlueJac]

65. Nothing to see here!

[Hotler]

67. Same reason the orange one is still walking free. I'm thinking the DOJ

is afraid of him.

[llashram]

69. open corruption and open grift

was the name of the game in trump's WH. Nothing will happen to Jarad, just like Ivanka, the other trump advisor coming out at the end of trump's 4 years with 640 million dollars she DID NOT have upon entering the WH as a chief aide to the 45th POTUS. All the corruption and grift are disgusting. I'm s 74-year-old veteran whose car went to the grave recently. Poor credit and small down payment for a ratty little used car? I'm turned down. Bad credit is on me from past mistakes in marriage and housing. All this shit about cars for vets is BS and these clowns have billions and millions just thrown at them. I see them in a room just wallowing in bucks...I hate them and the hypocritical rich of this country.

[BobTheSubgenius]

70. Why isn't it even a minor scandal?

JFC! What passes for oversight and journalism is beyond pathetic and into the disgusting range.

[ffr]

72. If only we had a media empire like the Russians do in the U.S.

With foreign paid 'non-journalists' who play the parts of journalists and news anchors, making up shit as they go along. Then we might be able to level the playing field and harp on the RW scandals and make them Breaking News headline banners 24/7, like they do about whatever it is that Vladimir Putin wants them to say.