Kushner’s and Mnuchin’s Quick Pivots to Business With the Gulf
New York TimesNov 25, 2021
Trump Officials Transition from Politics to Profits in Middle East
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Image copyright: AFP [via Business Insider]
The Facts
A NYT report on Sun. has shed light on how senior Trump Admin. officials, such as WH advisor Jared Kushner and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, appear to have leveraged official contacts in the Middle East for profit after leaving office.
In the final months of the Trump admin., Kushner and Mnuchin reportedly spearheaded a new US government-sponsored investment vehicle called the Abraham Fund that was supposed to raise $3B for investments in the Middle East.
The Spin
Left narrative
The revolving door effect is nothing new: many bureaucrats accept the grind of an official role precisely for the opportunity to profit from it when they leave office. But this is something different: Kushner and Mnuchin appear to have used their role as representatives of the US to advance their personal interests while still in office.
Right narrative
Kushner and Mnuchin's funds may be unseemly, but they don't violate any ethical rules because federal ethics guidelines - by design - don't apply to the White House nor to officials once they have left office. These issues are not limited to one party, nor are they as black and white as press coverage might suggest.
Cynical narrative
The constant flow of damning reports about the Trump admin. and its aftermath is making one thing clear: the US has lost its ability to identify, punish, and deter corruption. When self-dealing is the very modus operandi of an entire admin., accountability becomes impossible. The rule of law is being degraded and it doesn't seem likely to improve.
