Kushner scolds CNN over misleading report on Israeli investment

Jared Kushner, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, accused CNN of publishing a "deeply misleading story and headline" in a post on X on Friday. The criticism targeted a report published on Thursday, titled "How Jared Kushner’s firm’s investment in an Israeli company could be a major conflict of interest," which Kushner argued suggested his diplomatic work in the Middle East benefited investments in Israeli defense companies. Kushner, who rarely criticizes the media publicly, stated that the report's key finding was buried behind a paywall.

The CNN report detailed that Kushner served as a principal negotiator in the Gaza conflict while his firm, Affinity Partners, maintained the largest ownership interest in an Israeli entity that funds businesses supporting Israel’s military operations. According to the report, CNN utilized Israeli financial transparency laws to track military-linked investments of Phoenix Financial, a Tel Aviv-based firm. Kushner’s investment group doubled its stake in Phoenix Financial last year, shortly before Trump returned to the Oval Office. The records reviewed by CNN, which the report noted include only a fraction of Phoenix’s holdings, showed that Phoenix had invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer. Phoenix also held stakes in at least eight other companies providing equipment for the Israeli military, including drones, warships, and demolition machinery.

Kushner contended that CNN’s own reporting contradicted its headline. He quoted the report’s finding that "CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed." Kushner pointed out that this point was located 10 paragraphs deep in the article and was visible only to paid subscribers. In his response, he clarified that Affinity does not directly hold stakes in the nine companies identified by CNN, but stands to gain when Phoenix makes a profit. The report noted that all nine companies saw their stock value climb last year, with many stating that demand for their businesses had been driven by the war in Gaza.

Kushner defended his company’s investment by characterizing Phoenix Financial not as a defense company, but as one of Israel’s largest publicly traded financial institutions. He described it as highly regulated and managing approximately $220 billion across thousands of investments, comparing it to Vanguard or Fidelity. Kushner stated that Phoenix manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis and that he has no role in deciding what the firm buys or sells. He noted that Phoenix has performed well for Affinity and its investors, rising more than five times since the initial investment. Kushner emphasized that Affinity is an SEC-registered investment firm and that the investment in Phoenix is public, dating to before Trump’s re-election and Kushner’s return to public service.

In a separate post, Kushner said he had ignored false and misleading stories for the past decade but felt compelled to respond because the cycle had become distorted. A CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the network stands by its reporting. CNN also published a statement from Kushner’s attorney, which was hidden behind the paywall, stating that any suggestion Kushner’s diplomatic work influenced Phoenix’s investments is incorrect. A White House spokesperson told CNN that linking Kushner’s personal business activities to his diplomatic engagements is a "tired narrative" that Democrats have pushed against Trump and his administration for a decade.