Kushner Team Vows Legal Action Over New Book Claiming $2 Billion in Hidden Gulf Funds
The book alleges Dutch spies watched Kushner access secret accounts, prompting his lawyers to call the claims false and defamatory.
By Pedro Barnes ·
Jared Kushner’s legal team announced plans to sue over allegations in a forthcoming book that claim he controlled billions of dollars in secret Middle Eastern money. The legal move was detailed in a statement released Thursday night, marking the first formal step in the dispute over the manuscript.
The book, titled 'Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East,' is authored by journalist Matthew Cole. It asserts that Kushner had access to more than $2 billion in 'slush money funds' from regional leaders. The text claims these transfers were intended to buy influence within the U.S. government.
An excerpt published in Vanity Fair on Thursday outlines how Dutch intelligence agents allegedly discovered the funds. According to the account, the Dutch learned in 2017 that Russia had hacked Kushner’s iPhone. After turning a Russian spy, the Dutch gained access to the device and could see his screen while he used it.
The excerpt states that agents watched Kushner log into a United Arab Emirates account. It claims that account received hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan. The book further alleges that leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE deposited at least $2 billion into bank accounts tied to Kushner, including one held at Israel's Central Bank.
Kushner rejected the narrative in a statement, calling the allegations 'completely insane and never happened.' He noted that his team denied every claim on the record, yet the author provided 'not a single shred of verifiable evidence.' He specifically pointed out the absence of bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, or transaction dates.
His attorney described the claims as 'false and defamatory' and confirmed the team intends to pursue legal action against those responsible. While the statement did not name specific defendants, it signaled a formal challenge to the book's publication.
The White House also reacted to the news. Steven Cheung, the White House director of communications, wrote on X that the book is 'complete fiction.' He described Cole as a 'failed spy thriller writer' and said the article relies on 'mysterious words from unnamed sources' rather than documentation.
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