Jared Kushner’s father confirmed he met with Qatar’s finance minister in the early months of President Trump’s time in office, but says he turned down any possible funding for a financially troubled real estate project to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Charles Kushner told the Washington Post that the Qataris asked for a meeting with him and he had agreed to meet as a courtesy, but his company had decided that it would not accept sovereign funds.
“I was invited to a meeting,” the elder Kushner said in a statement to the Washington Post. “Before the meeting, Kushner Companies had decided that it was not going to accept sovereign wealth fund investments. We informed the Qatar representatives of our decision and they agreed. Even if they were there ready to wire the money, we would not have taken it.”
A spokesman for the Qatari embassy in Washington did not immediately return the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
The Intercept reported earlier this month that the meeting between Kushner and Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al Emadi took place in April 2017, weeks before a Saudi-led economic blockade against Qatar. The earlier report said the meeting had been requested by Kushner.
The standoff, led by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, severed air and sea routes to Qatar in June to try to pressure the country to draw back its ties to Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Turkey.
White House adviser Jared Kushner, according to reports last year, undermined efforts by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to end the standoff between the Middle Eastern countries.
