A watchdog group is suing the US President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to force disclosure of his personal finances and assess potential conflicts of interest as he serves as one of Donald Trump‘s top personal foreign envoys.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is concerned about conflicts of interest when dealing with foreign governments and actors, as Kushner has several business ties outside the United States. Both Kushner and US special envoy Steve Witkoff are technically not working within the Trump administration and are not taking a salary. Due to the nature of their appointments, they have not been vetted and confirmed by the US Senate. Witkoff was previously part of the administration, while Kushner, along with his wife, Ivanka Trump, served in Trump’s first cabinet.
CREW argues that Kushner represents the United States while also running an investment firm with billions in foreign assets. In his unofficial role, Kushner has been one of Trump’s top foreign policy aides, routinely meeting with world leaders as a representative of the administration. He has been directly involved in several negotiations, including those involving Israel, Iran, and Ukraine. He was one of the main negotiators of the deal between Israel and Hamas of 2025.
The legal complaint cited the grey zone of his role, saying that “he has evaded transparency obligations that aim to ensure that he exercises government authority for the good of the American people and not himself.” The lawsuit also named Witkoff, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in their official capacities.
The administration repeatedly said Kushner is a private citizen working voluntarily. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that CREW is an “unserious, Trump-deranged organisation that has been attacking President Trump, his family, and his administration since the first term.” She defended Kushner as a “proven dealmaker.”
One of Kushner’s legal representatives, Chad Mizelle, a former member of the second Trump administration, released a statement on X defending his client and calling the lawsuit “without merit.” He explained that “both outside ethics counsel and government ethics attorneys have reviewed Jared Kushner’s volunteer government service and confirmed that his arrangements comply with applicable ethics requirements.”
This article used information from The Associated Press.
