WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, U.S. Representative Greg Stanton (AZ-04) demanded answers from Secretary of State Marco Rubio over mounting evidence that Trump administration officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are personally profiting from foreign business dealings with the very governments they are tasked to negotiate with on behalf of the United States.
Stanton highlighted that UAE royal and National Security Advisor, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, purchased a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial — a cryptocurrency firm co-founded by Witkoff, President Trump, and his sons — for $500 million. As a result, $31 million flowed directly to the Witkoff family. Witkoff simultaneously participated in discussions to direct the export of America's most advanced AI chips to the UAE, with Sheikh Tahnoon present at the table. The chip deal was ultimately approved despite documented national security concerns about potential diversion of the technology to China.
Stanton also pressed Rubio on Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners, which has raised more than $6 billion since 2021, including $1.2 billion over the last year. 99 percent of that money was raised from foreign nationals, including from the sovereign wealth funds controlled by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, whose investment in Affinity Partners was personally recommended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is the firm's largest backer. This is the same Crown Prince who has privately lobbied President Trump to escalate the war with Iran that Kushner is supposedly helping to end.
Watch Rep. Stanton’s remarks HERE.
Full transcript below:
STANTON: Mr. Secretary, I do want to talk about the blurring of lines between public service and private enrichment at the highest levels of this administration's foreign policy leadership.
President Trump has placed Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in charge of addressing some of the world’s most intractable conflicts, including the war between Russia and Ukraine and cleaning up the president’s self-made mess of war of choice in Iran. Let me start with Witkoff, Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East. He cofounded the cryptocurrency venture firm World Liberty Financial, alongside President Trump and President Trump’s children.
Days before Trump’s second inauguration, a firm controlled by a member of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Tahnoon, bought a 49 percent stake in the company. That was a $500 million investment. $31 million of that went straight to the Witkoff family.
Witkoff was still a financial stakeholder in World Liberty as he was simultaneously leading high-level U.S. government negotiations in his role as Special Envoy. One of those negotiations was over the export of America’s most advanced AI chips to the UAE, negotiations personally attended by Sheikh Tahnoon.
In the spring, another company chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon, MGX, deposited $2 billion in World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, the single largest investment in a crypto company, ever. Weeks later, the chip deal was announced despite national security concerns.
Secretary Rubio, do you believe that Mr. Witkoff has an unacceptable conflict of interest?
RUBIO: I have never seen any evidence that he's made any decisions or advocated for any position that's to his personal benefit. On the contrary and again, I can't speak to all the things you're saying now because—that's not—Mr. Witkoff is an employee of the White House and he undergoes the ethics vetting and the procedures for disclosure that are appropriate to them, not to the State Department—but I would just add—I want to be fair, okay? I've never seen the guy ever say anything to me that makes me think this is personal rather than—the only thing he's ever done is spend his own money. I know he has spent his own money at great personal expense to fly around the world on his own airplane, not on the government bill. He has, you know, he has done it, but everything out of his own pocket.
STANTON: Are you concerned about the appearance of a conflict of interest in Mr. Witkoff?
RUBIO: I've never seen anything that leads me to have that concern. You know, again, you've cited a bunch of things. I'm just not aware of those because and but I'm just telling you my personal interactions with Mr. Witkoff of a person who just thinks he's serving the country and is happy to do so not out of any personal gain but because he wants to serve the country.
STANTON: As Secretary of State who's in charge of the foreign affairs of the United States, have you spoken to President Trump about any concerns about conflict of interest with Mr. Witkoff?
RUBIO: I haven't had to. I've not seen any.
STANTON: Let's talk about Jared Kushner. His private equity firm, Affinity Partners, has raised more than $6 billion since it was founded in 2021, including 1.2 billion just over the last year.
Mr. Secretary, are you aware of how much of that 6 billion has been raised from foreign nationals?
RUBIO: I don't know anything about that.
STANTON: The answer is 99%. These include sovereign wealth funds operated by Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund is the largest investor in affinity partners. In fact, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman personally recommended that Saudi Arabia invest in affinity partners.
The crown prince has also personally urged President Trump in multiple phone calls to continue the ongoing war of choice in Iran. Let's put it another way. The man who bankrolled Kushner's business venture is the same man who was lobbying for the war Kushner is tasked with ending.
Mr. Secretary, same question. Are you concerned about any conflict of interest by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law?
RUBIO: Again, in Jared's case, Jared is a private citizen who's been advising and participating in this voluntarily. He's not compensated for it or in any way. But I've never seen either—from either Steve or Jared—any on the contrary. All I've ever seen them do is put tremendous amount of time and energy into trying to solve problems like the amount of time they put into Gaza and the border of peace and all of that process.
I think I believe they've done it out of the kindness and goodness of their heart. They think they're serving the country.
STANTON: The goodness of their heart—Mr. Secretary, what Jared Kushner said on 60 Minutes on this very issue when asked about it, he says, "What people call conflicts of interests, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships that they have throughout the world."
Reclaiming my time.
Let's recap. The two men tasked with resolving this country's most sensitive national security issues, including meeting with Iranian negotiators, are profiting off the same countries that they are engaging with.
One thing we know for sure, while the Ukraine peace talks are going nowhere and the war of Iran has no end in sight, Witkoff and Kushner are making out like bandits. Meanwhile, a gallon of gas is still hovering about $4.67 in Phoenix, Arizona that I represent, up nearly 40% from just 18 months ago.
The American people are paying more for gas, for groceries, for everything. They're footing the bill while representatives of our government are cashing in. I yield back.