Kushner Denies Book's $2 Billion Claim

Former White House adviser Jared Kushner has rejected a new account alleging that he managed billions of dollars in secret funds from Middle Eastern leaders and had his iPhone compromised by Russian intelligence. The claims appear in an excerpt from a book by journalist Matthew Cole, titled "Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East." The text was published in Vanity Fair on Thursday.

The excerpt describes Kushner's role as a senior White House adviser during the first Trump administration. It states that he helped negotiate major foreign policy deals involving Israel, the Gulf states, China, and Russia. The book asserts that Kushner had access to more than $2 billion in "slush money funds" from regional leaders. The authors say this money was intended to buy influence within the U.S. government.

According to the text, Dutch intelligence agents discovered in 2017 that Russia had hacked Kushner's iPhone. The Dutch service reportedly learned of the intrusion after turning a Russian spy. They then gained access to the device and observed Kushner's screen while he used it. The account claims they watched him log into a United Arab Emirates account that had received hundreds of millions of dollars from an Azerbaijani bank.

The book further alleges that leaders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE deposited at least $2 billion into several bank accounts tied to Kushner. One of these accounts was held at Israel's Central Bank. The report states that the owners and managers of these accounts were often presented as official government bodies or charities. It claims the funds were used for off-the-books diplomatic objectives, such as brokering a deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The text cites a person with knowledge of the money who said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman placed roughly $1 billion in at least one account for Kushner's personal benefit.

Kushner and his legal team issued statements on Thursday night denying the allegations. Kushner called the claims baseless and stated that his side denied every claim on the record. He noted that the author provided no bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, or transaction dates. His attorney described the claims as false and defamatory and said they plan to pursue legal action against those responsible.

The White House directed CBS News to a statement from Steven Cheung, assistant to the president and White House director of communications. Writing on X, Cheung called the source book "complete fiction" and said it was fabricated by a "failed spy thriller writer." He stated that the book presents no evidence or documentation, only "mysterious words from unnamed sources."

CBS News has not independently verified the excerpt from the book. The full text is scheduled for release in an upcoming publication.