Donald Trump and Jared Kushner are in even deeper with Qatar than we thought
On June 9, 2017, Donald J. Trump spoke from the Rose Garden about Qatar and the funding of terrorism, stating, “The nation of Qatar has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.” Those comments were in support of other Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, cutting off diplomatic relations with Qatar for supporting terrorism. Less than a year later, Qatar is buying property at a New York City Trump property and is said to potentially be bailing out Jared Kushner with his 666 Fifth Avenue property.
The history of the development of the administration’s actions with Qatar present is troubling for its timing. In April 2017, Kushner’s family business allegedly sought funding from Qatar for its 666 property, but Qatar refused. Kushner and the Trump administration soon turned to supporting the Qatar blockade. In recent months, Qatari officials have bought four condominiums in Trump World Tower for a total of $16.5 million, including a $6.5 million apartment purchase in January 2018, shortly after a lawsuit filed by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) was dismissed. CREW alleged that President Trump is violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution through such dealings. President Trump has denied he personally benefitted from such transactions.
Last week, news broke that Qatari investor, Ahmed Al-Rumaihi, had attended meetings at Trump Tower in December 2016 with Trump transition officials. Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels, had identified Al-Rumaihi of getting on the elevator at Trump Tower and it has now been confirmed. Al-Rumaihi at the time was attending in his role as head of Qatar Investments, an internal division of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Al-Rumaihi and QIA are purported to be involved with the Rosneft oil deal as well.
Now we have learned that Kushner Companies are in advanced discussions with Brookfield Properties to bail out the 666 property. A major investor in the publicly-traded Brookfield is QIA. QIA has denied any involvement in the 666 bailout. A final twist in the December 2016 Trump Tower meeting is comments by Al-Rumaihi that Michael Cohen asked him for $1 million in fees for Cohen’s services. Cohen has denied those allegations. The mystery of what the Trump administration really believes about Qatar remains outstanding. But the number of Qatar-Trump administration touches are not likely a coincidence and raise questions about dealing with a country allegedly involved in supporting terrorism at “a high level.”
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.