Kushner Calls Book's $2 Billion Claims 'Insane' as Lawyers Weigh Suit
An upcoming book by journalist Matthew Cole alleges hacked phones, foreign intelligence agents, and billions routed through Gulf accounts tied to Kushner.
By Bianca Shevchenko ·
Jared Kushner's camp pushed back Thursday night against a book excerpt claiming more than $2 billion in Middle Eastern funds moved through accounts linked to him, calling the reporting "completely insane and never happened." The former senior White House adviser said he denied every claim on the record, yet author Matthew Cole published "not a single shred of verifiable evidence." Kushner also noted the absence of bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers or transaction dates.
The allegations appear in "Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East," an upcoming book by journalist Matthew Cole. An excerpt ran Thursday in Vanity Fair covering Kushner's time as senior adviser in the first Trump administration, where he took a leading role in U.S. Middle East policy and helped negotiate deals involving Israel, the Gulf states, China and Russia. CBS News has not independently verified the excerpt.
The excerpt says Dutch intelligence agents learned in 2017 that Russia had hacked Kushner's iPhone. According to that account, the agents learned of the breach after turning a Russian spy, then gained access to the device themselves, watching his screen and capturing every image he viewed. The report alleges the Dutch spies observed him log into a United Arab Emirates account that had received hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan.
It further claims Saudi and UAE leaders deposited at least $2 billion into several bank accounts tied to Kushner, including one held at Israel's Central Bank. The book says account owners and managers were often presented as government bodies or charities, while the money was intended for "off-the-books diplomatic objectives" such as brokering an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It also cites a "person with knowledge of the money" saying Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman placed roughly $1 billion in at least one account for Kushner's personal benefit.
Kushner's attorney called the claims "false and defamatory" and said legal action is planned against those responsible, without specifying whom. The White House directed CBS News to Steven Cheung, assistant to the president and White House director of communications, who wrote on X that the source book is "complete fiction" fabricated by a "failed spy thriller writer." Cheung said the book presents no evidence or documentation, only "mysterious words from unnamed sources." The book excerpt was published Thursday in Vanity Fair.
