House Judiciary Committee Democrats have escalated their investigation into Jared Kushner, warning his conduct tied to a luxury resort in Albania could expose him to liability under a federal anti-bribery law.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the panel's top Democrat, sent Kushner a letter demanding records on the "approval or consideration" of his Albanian coastal development, including communications with U.S. and Albanian officials, reported MS NOW.
Raskin stated the goal is to determine whether Kushner's "conduct should be investigated under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," and whether the statute needs strengthening. The 1977 law bars U.S. companies or individuals from offering or promising anything of value to a foreign official to obtain or keep business, according to the Department of Commerce.
The letter builds on an inquiry Raskin opened in April into what Democrats called Kushner's "glaring and incurable conflict of interest" when he served as a peace envoy for his father-in-law, President Donald Trump, while running Affinity Partners, a private equity firm backed heavily by Gulf sovereign wealth funds, including roughly $2 billion from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.
Kushner announced the Albania project in 2024. It has drawn sustained protests over aggressive site security and fears of environmental damage to local wildlife.
Scrutiny intensified in July after reports that the resort's land had been sold to Kushner's firm by a businessman wanted in Albania for money laundering and suspected drug-trafficking ties, using what is alleged to be a faked deed.
Kushner has denied wrongdoing, but the Wall Street Journal reported that villagers had tried to warn Kushner's team that the land was stolen.
"While acting as our nation's chief negotiator to end several international conflicts created or exacerbated by your father-in-law's Administration, you have taken the time to start an international incident all by yourself," Raskin wrote, adding that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama backed the project even though he "could not win the approval of his own electorate" for it.
Raskin also noted Kushner never answered the committee's original April request for his communications with Saudi, Emirati, Qatari and Israeli officials and Affinity's investor records.
The White House spokesperson Anna Kelly called the request by Raskin part of "the same, tired narrative" Democrats have pushed against Trump's family for a decade, saying Kushner's business activities are unrelated to his volunteer diplomatic work.
A spokesperson for Kushner's development group told the Journal the land acquisitions were lawful and Albania's courts are the proper venue for ownership disputes. Kushner's firm did not respond to a request for comment from MS NOW.
House Judiciary Democrats currently lack subpoena power, so Kushner faces no immediate obligation to comply — although that would change if Democrats retake the House majority in November.
