FBI ‘warned’ Jared Kushner about Wendi Deng Murdoch
Donald Trump’s son-in-law was told the businesswoman might try to ‘further Beijing’s interests’

Jared Kushner was warned by US spies in early 2017 that Wendi Deng Murdoch might use her friendship with him and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to “help China”, it has been claimed.
The report about Rupert Murdoch’s ex-wife - published in Murdoch-owned newspaper The Wall Street Journal - says US officials feared the Chinese-American businesswoman “might seek to help the Chinese government” using her US political connections.
Concern reportedly focused on her lobbying for a Beijing-funded $100m garden project for the National Arboretum in Washington DC, which could have posed a security risk because the design includes a tall tower that could be used for surveillance.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
At a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing today, a spokesperson failed to answer a question about Deng Murdoch, instead saying “certain people in the US should stop creating problems when none exists”, CNN reports.
The White House described Kushner’s meeting with US security as “routine” and said none of the people involved had been accused of wrongdoing.
Deng Murdoch, who holds an MBA from Yale, also counts former UK PM Tony Blair among her political contacts, says Vanity Fair.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Team Trump brings the MAGA playbook to Albania's elections
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The architects of the president's 2024 victory are looking east to extend their populist reach
-
Narco subs are helping fuel a global cocaine surge
The Explainer Drug smugglers are increasingly relying on underwater travel to hide from law enforcement
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Can team Trump make the MAGA playbook work for Albania's elections?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The architects of the president's 2024 victory are looking east to extend their populist reach
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Carney and Trump come face-to-face as bilateral tensions mount
IN THE SPOTLIGHT For his first sit-down with an unpredictable frenemy, the Canadian prime minister elected on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment tried for an awkward detente
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
How does the Alien Enemies Act work?
Feature President Trump is using a long-dormant law to deport Venezuelans. How does it work?
-
Baby bonus: Can Trump boost the birth rate?
Feature The Trump administration is encouraging Americans to have more babies while also cutting funding for maternal and postpartum care
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'