WASHINGTON — Members of Congress are speaking out about this weekend’s Washington Post report detailing Jared Kushner's financial relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) said that if there's a need for Congressional oversight then it should be investigated. He doesn't think any of these things should be political.
"In President Trump's administration we had an unprecedented abuse of power in so many different ways, and there have been a lot of investigations that have revealed that I'm not sure what additional investigations will add to the historical record or would lead to legal action, but it's something that should be looked at. I read the article on this and it was pretty explicit... so."
He went on to say that Trump pushed lawmakers into this situation.
"This isn't just business as usual because we disagree with a president," he continued. "This is taking the office to a whole new level. I think we hit the pinnacle on this with the Jan. 6 hearings in the House. We've done a lot already. You do reach a point where - what is the objective? We know he abused the office. If it leads to legal actions it's for the executive branch not the legislative."
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He argued that the Justice Department should look into this and not the House and Senate.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), by contrast, laughed when Raw Story asked about the reporting on Kushner.
"With the Democrats in the majority in the Senate I doubt it's on the agenda," he said about whether hearings should be held. "Maybe the House. I thought that Mr. Kushner played a really significant role in the Abraham Accords and while Saudi Arabia didn't get there yet I think, uh, he's been a force for good in the Middle East."
A 2022 report said that the Saudis might be close to joining the agreement, but by Jan. 2023 they made it clear it was off the table.
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Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said that it's clear the House Oversight Republicans are a "joke" and their approach to investigating corruption in government is only isolated to the Democrats.
However, she said, the reporting about Kushner, "raises a lot of questions. I would like to see the legal issues about Trump [in the DOJ] move forward."
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) told Raw Story that the Kushner details are something that should be looked into.
Kushner was given $2 billion by the Saudi royals for his hedge fund, despite advisers warning the royals against it. Kushner is now making $20 million annually off of the fund.
The Washington Post reported this week revealed, "an investment fund overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is backing ventures that profit the former president and his senior adviser, raising questions of conflict." Weeks before leaving office, Kushner was in the Middle East to meet with the Saudis and others. The day after leaving the White House he created the company. Within a few months, he had the investment from the Saudis.
