Mueller wants to know if Jared Kushner's personal grudges influenced White House policy

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating if Jared Kushner ever intentionally shaped Trump administration policy to reward or exact revenge on foreign officials he met with about business during the transition process, NBC News reports. The probe focuses specifically on Kushner's potential attempts to secure funding for his family's indebted property at 666 Fifth Avenue, and on his conversations with officials from Qatar, Turkey, Russia, China, and the United Arab Emirates in the weeks between the election and the inauguration.

In one case, investigators have reportedly contacted Turkish nationals for information about Kushner. "Any cooperation with Mueller's probe from foreign nationals or government officials would mark a significant new dimension to the investigation beyond what is currently publicly known," notes NBC News.

One of the meetings Mueller is reportedly looking into was held between Kushner and the former prime minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, or "HBJ," in December 2016. HBJ was in talks to potentially invest in Kushner Companies' Fifth Avenue building, which owes more than $1 billion in debt due in 2019. Shortly after HBJ decided against investing in the property, the White House backed an economic blockade against Qatar, which some Qatari officials say was retaliation. The White House says the blockade, which was led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, was about terrorism.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Kushner has evidently shown his willingness to intervene in administration decisions due to personal grudges before. Trump's son-in-law allegedly pushed out former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) from the presidential transition team because Christie had sent Kushner's father to jail when he was a federal prosecutor. Read more about Mueller's probe into Kushner's meetings with foreigners during the transition at NBC News, and read Ryan Cooper on the corruption of Kushner at The Week.