Jared Kushner is 'unlawfully' and unconstitutionally serving as a diplomat in countries where his business interests raise 'serious conflict-of-interest concerns,' lawsuit says

Jared Kushner is breaking federal law by acting as "one of the country's top diplomats" without having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate or filing necessary financial disclosures, according to a lawsuit filed by a nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog group.

In a 45-page complaint filed Wednesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) accuses the presidential son-in-law, the White House and several Trump administration staffers of violating the appointments clause and federal ethics laws.

"[T]o the extent that Kushner is legally considered to be just a private citizen … the Court should bar him from exercising the government authority unlawfully delegated to him," the lawsuit argues.

The litigation claims Kushner's role as one of the government's "go-to foreign policy negotiators" violates the U.S. Constitution and that he should be ordered by a court to "file all financial disclosures required by the Ethics Act for the time that he unconstitutionally served as an officer of the United States in violation of the Appointments Clause."

"[W]hile his personal business interests abroad raise serious conflict-of-interest concerns, he has not been properly vetted for his government role, and 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 reads.

The lawsuit recounts several of Kushner's projects abroad, including efforts to secure the Trump administration's stated foreign policy objectives in Eastern Europe, the Persian Gulf and the Middle East.

"He negotiates directly with foreign leaders," the lawsuit goes on. "He fills a crucial and continuing role in shaping and implementing the country's foreign policy during President Trump's second term. Simultaneously, Kushner is also a private businessman."

The filing elaborates on one of Kushner's businesses:

He runs an investment firm with over $6 billion in assets under management. Approximately 99% of those assets are owned by foreign investors, including the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The firm holds significant investments abroad, including in Israel.

"The interplay and overlap between his government role and private business interests present a heightened risk of financial conflicts of interest," the lawsuit argues. "Nonetheless, Kushner continues to exercise significant government power while circumventing the very protections put in place to guard against such conflicts."

In February, President Donald Trump announced that his daughter's husband would serve as an "envoy" of peace, enlisting his onetime senior White House adviser to act as a de facto ambassador and negotiator in three ongoing international armed conflicts.

"President Trump has repeatedly recognized the centrality of Kushner's role in formulating American foreign policy and representing American interests on the world stage, crediting him for his work negotiating on behalf of the United States and achieving foreign affairs victories," the lawsuit goes on.

This role, CREW says, runs afoul of congressional powers and federal laws because Kushner "has not been properly vetted for his government role, and 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 goes on to cite Kushner's sole ownership of Affinity, the aforementioned financial investment firm, as one of the major problems with his diplomatic work for the Trump administration.

From the filing at length:

Affinity has a "global" investment strategy that accounts for "geopolitical risks" and "seeks proprietary opportunities driven by global transitions." This strategy increases the potential for substantial conflicts of interest, given that Kushner's government work to resolve major global conflicts could impact Affinity's investments.

The lawsuit says the full extent of Kushner's diplomacy is currently unknown — and unknowable unless transparency law is enforced.

"The public record of Kushner's meetings with foreign officials, however, does not comprehensively capture all of his work for the second Trump administration," the filing goes on. "Kushner has undoubtedly represented the United States in meetings with foreign officials that have gone unreported."

The three-count lawsuit asks a court to enjoin Kushner from working in a diplomatic role "until he is appointed and confirmed in accordance with the Appointments Clause" and to further enjoin top government officials "from facilitating or supporting Kushner exercising the powers of an officer of the United States."

Should the court not find a constitutional issue with Kushner's work, the plaintiffs want Kushner to file the requisite financial disclosure forms required of high-level government officials.

"Jared Kushner is required to follow the Constitution and federal law, and if he has nothing to hide, he should welcome the opportunity to go through the Senate confirmation process and show the public everything is above board," CREW President Donald K. Sherman said in a press release. "Instead, he has decided to act as though he is above the law and ignore it. The court cannot allow this to continue and must intervene."