| | | That is ridiculous. You are just trying to deflect from the incompetence of the Liar in Chief who has cost the country hundreds of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars in wealth. And continuing.
You want to learn about real corruption, look at Jared and Donnie. And this is only one example of many. And this one doesn't rely on doctored hard drives and corrupt Ukrainian officials showing up in October (gee, what coincidence--too late to actually conduct a thorough investigation).
Timeline on Jared Kushner, Qatar, 666 Fifth Avenue, and White House Policy
by Ryan Goodman and Julia Brooks
March 11, 2020
The heart of the case involving President Donald J. Trump and Ukraine was the claim that the president pressured a U.S. ally, weakening the security of that country, to extract a personal benefit for himself. Several commentators have said that the president’s action toward Ukraine fit a pattern of his calling on foreign governments to interfere in US elections. But does it also fit a pattern of trading off the security interests of the United States and foreign partners for personal benefit to himself and his family? We don’t answer that question here. We instead provide a timeline of events surrounding an earlier incident at the Trump White House involving Qatar and the Kushner Companies. We leave it to readers and further investigation to reach any conclusions — whether this was a shakedown of a foreign partner motivated or clouded by personal financial interests or something quite innocent. At a minimum, we believe it raises important questions and concerns that deserve further scrutiny. When the Kushner Companies purchased 666 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan in early 2007 for a record-breaking price of $1.8 billion, it was supposed to be a center of their real estate portfolio. Instead, the Kushners have struggled to cover their debt on the troubled building since shortly after its purchase on the eve of the financial crisis. As Jared Kushner’s father-in-law, Donald J. Trump, was running for President, the Kushners were pitching Qatari investors to help bail out the building. And just weeks after his father Charles reportedly failed to reach a deal with Qatar’s minister of finance, Jared Kushner, in his capacity as a senior adviser to President Trump, reportedly played a central role in supporting a blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Kushner never disclosed his meeting with Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the blockade to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the time. Later, a financial company tied to Qatar brokered an especially valuable deal to rescue the Kushner Companies’ property at 666 Fifth Avenue.
The following is a timeline of events related to the Kushners’ pursuit of funding from Qatar for 666 Fifth Avenue and the Trump-Kushner support for the Saudi-UAE blockade of Qatar.
The timeline will be updated as new information becomes available. We invite readers to email us any information we may be missing by sending suggestions to lte@justsecurity.org, whether favorable or unfavorable to President Trump and Jared Kushner. Our goal is to provide an objective, full description of the publicly available record.
Significant credit is due to Mohamad Bazzi who provided a detailed account of several of these activities in an opinion piece for The Guardian in July 2019.
January 2007: Kushner Companies purchases 666 Fifth Avenue for record price on eve of financial crisis
The Kushner Companies purchases, at Jared Kushner’s urging, 666 Fifth Avenue, an office tower in Midtown Manhattan, for $1.8 billion at the height of the real estate market. They invest $500 million, and cover the remaining amount with debt. Even before the financial crisis hits, there are signs that they paid too high a price and took on too much debt for the purchase. It was, at the time, the highest purchase price ever paid for a New York office tower.
2007 – 2008: Global financial crisis and early troubles for 666 Fifth Avenue
As the global financial crisis unfolds, Citigroup announces in December 2007 that it will not renew its lease on about 75,000 square feet of space in 666 Fifth Avenue. In 2008, the Kushners sell a 49 percent stake in the building’s retail space to the Carlyle Group and Crown Acquisitions for $525 million, using part of the proceeds to cover debt on the building.
2010: Kushners’ financial troubles with 666 Fifth Avenue
Kushner Companies’ $1.2 billion loan on 666 Fifth Avenue is transferred to a special servicer to try to restructure the debt after the Kushners reported difficulties in paying the loan. The building is appraised at $820 million, less than half of what the Kushners paid for it in 2007 and less than the debt they owe to banks.
2011
The Kushners sell nearly 50% of the building’s office space to Vornado as part of a refinancing deal on the loan for the building.
2015-2016 and transition to White House: The Kushners negotiate with Qataris
In June 2015, Donald J. Trump formally announces his candidacy for President of the United States.
Throughout 2015 and 2016, Jared and Charles Kushner negotiate with Qatari investor Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani (known as “HBJ”) to refinance the building. HBJ is a former Prime Minister of Qatar who manages the country’s $250 billion sovereign wealth fund. One of the meetings Kushner reportedly holds with HBJ is in Trump Tower during the transition in December 2016. He agrees to invest at least $500 million. The deal ultimately falls through when the Kushners fail to raise the rest of the funding from other sources, and the potential investors reportedly worry about public scrutiny from Kushner’s role in the Trump White House.
Tom Barrack told the Washington Post that he tried to use his Qatar connection to help Kushner with 666 Fifth Avenue. “Barrack said he told the former prime minister of Qatar to consider investing in the Kushner Cos. property,” according to the Post. In a subsequent Post story, Barrack says that Kushner’s move to the White House, “just about completely chilled the market, and [potential investors] just said, ‘No way — can’t be associated with any appearances of conflict of interest,’ even though there was none.”
(Note: Barrack says it was the perceived conflict of interest that dissuaded these investors, yet they do, in fact, subsequently invest.)
Note: Steve Bannon’s FBI interview (Feb. 12, 2018):
Bannon reviewed a document Bates stamped SB_00003977 and said the second bullet point was not true. The bullet point said: ‘During transition you had an IT guy do email search of trump servers and discovered Jared met with Anbang and Qataris to raise money for 666 Fifth. You viewed the email that connected the dots. Those meetings left Jared exposed to Comey’” ( Steve Bannon FBI 302, p. 166). Anbang Insurance Group has close ties to the Chinese government. (See March 2017 entry below for evidence of Kushner negotiations with Anbang to raise funds for 666 Fifth Avenue.)
Late October, early November 2016: Saudis reach out
A week before the election, candidate Trump meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Trump’s private residence, according to Rick Gates’ FBI proffer (p. 99).
Kushner is the main point of contact for foreign governments during the campaign.
According to Gates, “Kushner and Sessions were designated to deal with any requests by foreign officials to the campaign. This decision was made fairly early on as a result of request from Papadopoulos in or around April 2016 about requests from foreign officials. This request was made to Manafort. Manafort and Kushner then made the decision to designate Kushner and Sessions to deal with this.” (Gates FBI proffer, p.99)“One of Kushner’s main responsibilities was to have relationships with foreign governments, while Priebus coordinated everyone’ s efforts.” (Gates FBI proffer, p.145) Post election: Saudi assessment of Trump-Kushner team
Soon after the election, Prince Mohammad Bin Salman sends a delegation of Saudi officials to meet with Kushner and other Trump advisers. They subsequently write an unflattering assessment that later leaks. It says that Trump’s “inner circle is predominantly deal makers who lack familiarity with political customs and deep institutions, and they support Jared Kushner.” The Saudi delegation “brought back a report identifying Mr. Kushner as a crucial focal point in the courtship of the new administration,” according to the New York Times. “He brought to the job scant knowledge about the region, a transactional mind-set and an intense focus on reaching a deal with the Palestinians that met Israel’s demands, the delegation noted.”
January 2017: Jared Kushner officially joins the Trump Administration
Jared Kushner joins the Trump administration as a senior adviser, and formally resigns as chief executive of Kushner Companies. He sells some assets to a family trust, including his stake in 666 Fifth Avenue. However, he retains the vast majority of his interest in the Kushner Companies, and transfers a small portion of his stake in the company to a trust overseen by his mother. He maintains real estate and other holdings worth around $800 million.
From early 2017 onward: Kushner-MBS private communications
Since the early months of the administration, senior officials were worried about Jared Kushner’s having private, informal conversations with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a practice he continued even after Chief of Staff John Kelly imposed new protocols, according to the New York Times (December 2018 report). “The private exchanges could make him susceptible to Saudi manipulation, said three former senior American officials,” according to the Times. “There was a risk the Saudis were playing him,” one former White House official said. Intelligence briefers told Kelly that virtually all of the conversations that U.S. officials had with the Saudis on sensitive policy matter had been between Kushner and MBS, according to the Washington Post. “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster expressed early concern that Kushner was freelancing U.S. foreign policy. … McMaster was concerned there were no official records kept of what was said on the calls,” the Post reported. McMaster also “learned that Kushner had contacts with foreign officials that he did not coordinate through the National Security Council or officially report,” according to another Post report.
[Note: See entries on December 2017, February 2018, and May 2018 concerning Kushner’s security clearances.]
March 2017: The Kushners negotiate with Chinese financers
After financial talks between the Kushners and the Chinese conglomerate Anbang Insurance Group, which has close ties to the Chinese government, become public, Democratic lawmakers raise concerns to the White House Counsel and Treasury Secretary that a deal could violate federal ethics regulations. Several days later, negotiations end without a deal to finance the building.
April 2017: The Kushners directly approach Qatari government for financing
Charles Kushner and associates meet with Qatari Finance Minister Sharif Al Emadi and aides in New York to seek investment in 666 Fifth Avenue from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. No deal is reached.
Following a report by The Intercept on March 2, 2018 on the meeting, a spokeswoman for Kushner Companies, Chris Taylor, denied that such negotiations occured, stating: “To be clear, we did not meet with anyone from the Qatari government to solicit sovereign funds for any of our projects […] To suggest otherwise is inaccurate and false” (Newsweek, March 2, 2018)
Two weeks later, Kushner Companies acknowledged the meeting. Charles Kushner told the Washington Post that he refused the proposal to avoid a conflict of interest for his son.
Note: In his interview with the Washington Post, Charles Kushner also referred to not taking funds directly from Qatar specifically through a sovereign wealth fund. He told the Post: “Before the meeting, Kushner Companies had decided that it was not going to accept sovereign wealth fund investments. We informed the Qatar representatives of our decision and they agreed. Even if they were there ready to wire the money, we would not have taken it.” The Post reports that, on the contrary, according to Tom Barrack, Charles Kushner was “crushed” when the earlier deal with Qatar on 666 Fifth Avenue fell through during the presidential transition.
Charles Kushner later told CNN that he accepted the invitation to the meeting only “out of respect” for the Qataris and to tell them there was no way “we could do business.” He also said taking the meeting was “stupid,” given how it might be perceived publicly. ( CNN, April 25, 2018).
Dexter Filkins reported that Charles Kushner’s explanation was false, according to a financial analyst with knowledge of the meeting:
Kushner pitched a huge renovation of the property, which included bringing in retail stores and converting offices to residences, and hosted a follow-up meeting the next day at 666 Fifth Avenue. “He asked for just under a billion dollars,” [the financial analyst] told me. The Qataris declined, citing dubious business logic. “They could have bought the building—believe me, they have the money,” the analyst said. “They just didn’t think it would ever pay off.” The analyst worried that refusing the deal had a political cost. “Here’s a question for you: If they had given Kushner the money, would there have been a blockade? I don’t think so.”
CNN’s Vicky Ward corroborated Filkins’ account citing a person who was in the meeting.
May 20, 2017: Kushner’s “Shadow” Meeting Prior to Blockade of Qatar
President Trump makes his first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia, including in the delegation Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Jared Kushner, and Steve Bannon. During the trip, Kushner and Bannon meet for a private dinner with top leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who lay out their plan to impose a blockade on Qatar. Secretary Rex Tillerson is neither present for the meeting, nor informed of the meeting. He never learns of the meeting during his time in office (he departed in March 2018). After leaving office, Tillerson testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and says it makes him “angry” to learn of Kushner’s meeting:
Q: A couple of weeks later on May 20th, 2017, you were in Riyadh with the President in advance of the Middle East summit. And you again gave public remarks with the Saudi Foreign Minister. […]
So that same night as we understand it, so on or about May 20th, 2017, there was apparently a private dinner that was hosted between Steve Bannon, Jared Kushner, and the rulers of Saudi Arabia and UAE, respectively. Were you aware of that dinner?
A: No.
[…]
Q: Okay. What’s your reaction to a meeting of that sort having taken place without your knowledge?
A: It makes me angry.
Q: Why is that?
A: Because I didn’t have a say. The State Department’s views were never expressed.
– Tillerson Interview Transcript (May 21, 2019), p. 84-85.
A White House spokesperson, Hogan Gidley issues a denial saying, “Jared consistently follows proper protocols” with the National Security Council and State Department, the “alleged ‘dinner’ to supposedly discuss the blockade never happened,” and no one in the White House was “involved in the blockade.”
June 1, 2017: Congressional concerns raised about Kushner’s links to EB-5 visas for Kushner Companies including for 666 Fifth Avenue
On June 1, 2017, Democratic members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees write to the Kushner Companies, seeking answers on their use of EB-5 foreign investor visas “especially in light of Jared Kushner’s role in the Trump administration and the potential for conflicts of interest” and that the Kushner Companies “may be seeking to benefit from the Kushner family’s connections to the White House.”
June 5, 2017: Blockade of Qatar begins
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain sever diplomatic and economic relations with Qatar. They accuse Qatar of financing terrorism, supporting Islamist groups, and undermining efforts to isolate Iran. They impose a land, sea, and air blockade on Qatar.
Secretary of State Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis are both caught by surprise by the blockade, according to Tillerson’s testimony before Congress (p. 92). Tillerson and Mattis both publicly call for calm to deescalate the situation. (See also Dexter Filkins’ reporting.)
In a shock to Qatar, Trump initially expresses support for the blockade, in contradiction to the official U.S. government position of neutrality.
continues at justsecurity.org |
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