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Kushner threatens legal action over Vanity Fair book excerpt

Jared Kushner denied allegations in a Vanity Fair excerpt about access to foreign bank accounts, while his attorney, Chad Mizelle, threatened legal action over the reporting. The excerpt alleged Dutch intelligence monitored Kushner’s phone and linked an account to the UAE-funded Watani Al Emarat Foundation.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 3 outlets' reporting · 1 article captured only in partHow it's made

View timeline · 6 entries
3 outletsLatest reporting 4 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 1 · C 2 · R 0
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Photo: US Mission to the European Union / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Vanity Fair published an excerpt from Matthew Cole’s forthcoming book, Princes and Thieves, alleging that Jared Kushner had access to secret foreign accounts (per freepressjournal.in, thewrap.com).
  • The excerpt alleged Dutch military intelligence obtained screenshots of Kushner’s iPhone from a Russian military intelligence server around 2017–2018 (per freepressjournal.in).
  • The excerpt alleged a Russian hacker working for the Main Intelligence Directorate entered British custody and cooperated with Western intelligence agencies, enabling Dutch intelligence to access the phone material (per freepressjournal.in).
  • The excerpt alleged Dutch intelligence monitored Kushner’s phone activity and saw him access a First Abu Dhabi Bank account linked to the UAE government-funded Watani Al Emarat Foundation (per freepressjournal.in).
  • The excerpt alleged the account received approximately $750 million from Saudi and Emirati sources through a bank in Azerbaijan (per freepressjournal.in).
  • The excerpt alleged arrangements involving at least $2 billion across accounts in the UAE and Israel, including a separate account said to hold around $1 billion for Kushner’s personal benefit (per freepressjournal.in, thewrap.com).
  • Kushner denied the allegations; freepressjournal.in reports that he called them “completely insane” and “outrageous fabrications,” while thewrap.com says he categorically denied the claims (per freepressjournal.in, thewrap.com).
  • Kushner’s attorney, Chad Mizelle, accused those behind the reporting of publishing false information and threatened legal action (per thewrap.com, newrepublic.com).

The brief

Jared Kushner denied allegations in a Vanity Fair excerpt about secret foreign bank accounts, and his attorney, Chad Mizelle, threatened legal action against those responsible for publishing the account.

Vanity Fair published the excerpt from investigative journalist Matthew Cole’s forthcoming book, Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East. The Wrap describes the reporting as alleging Kushner had access to accounts containing roughly $2 billion during Donald Trump’s first term.

The excerpt alleges Dutch military intelligence obtained screenshots of Kushner’s iPhone from a server linked to Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate around 2017–2018.

It further alleges that a Russian hacker working for the Main Intelligence Directorate entered British custody and cooperated with Western intelligence agencies, allowing Dutch intelligence to obtain the phone material and monitor Kushner’s activity.

According to the excerpt, Dutch intelligence saw Kushner access an account at First Abu Dhabi Bank linked to Watani Al Emarat Foundation, which the excerpt describes as funded by the UAE government. The account allegedly received approximately $750 million from Saudi and Emirati sources through a bank in Azerbaijan.

These intelligence and account details are allegations in the book excerpt, not independently established findings in the cited coverage. The excerpt also alleges that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed were involved in arrangements involving at least $2 billion across accounts in the UAE and Israel.

It says some funds were intended to support foreign-policy objectives and alleges a separate account held around $1 billion for Kushner’s personal benefit. The Wrap summarizes the broader allegation as access to secret foreign accounts during Trump’s first term, while the excerpt provides the account-level claims. Kushner rejected the allegations.

The Free Press Journal reports that he called them “completely insane” and “outrageous fabrications”; The Wrap says he categorically denied the claims. Mizelle accused those behind the reporting of publishing false information and threatened legal action.

On X, he said his team had sent Simon & Schuster a detailed 13-page letter before publication challenging the allegations and the supporting evidence. The dispute therefore involves both the reporting and its publication: The Wrap identifies Vanity Fair and book publisher Simon & Schuster as facing the threat of litigation.

The excerpt’s account traces the alleged phone access to intelligence cooperation after a hacker entered British custody, while Kushner’s legal team disputes the reporting and its evidentiary basis. The coverage does not establish whether a lawsuit has been filed.

Why it matters

  • Kushner and his legal team face a dispute over allegations involving accounts said to contain at least $2 billion across the UAE and Israel, including an alleged $1 billion account for his personal benefit.
  • The account-level allegation names Saudi and Emirati sources and an approximately $750 million transfer through a bank in Azerbaijan; the excerpt also links one account to the UAE-funded Watani Al Emarat Foundation.
  • Vanity Fair and Simon & Schuster face a stated threat of litigation, while Mizelle says his team challenged the reporting in a 13-page letter before publication.

What to watch next

  • Whether Chad Mizelle or Kushner’s legal team files a lawsuit against those responsible for publishing the excerpt.
  • Whether Simon & Schuster faces litigation over publication of Matthew Cole’s book.
  • Whether Kushner or his representatives provide further public details supporting their denial of the account allegations.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 3 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 1 Left · 2 Center
Where the outlets are based: Unknown 67% · Asia 33%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
1 outlet
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
3 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
How we measure coverage

2 sources are from a wire service (AP, Reuters, AFP or Bloomberg), whose reporting other outlets often republish.

How outlets' accounts compare

4 framing differences · 2 uncorroborated claims · 2 information gaps
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 3 reports whose article text Updat3 read.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • The Wrap centers its account on Kushner’s denial and the legal threat, while The New Republic foregrounds the alleged financial ties and quotes Mizelle’s prepublication objection.
  • The Free Press Journal supplies detail about the alleged intelligence chain and the Watani Al Emarat Foundation-linked account; The Wrap emphasizes the roughly $2 billion overall allegation and potential litigation against Vanity Fair and Simon & Schuster.
  • The alleged account access and transfers are attributed to the Vanity Fair excerpt; Kushner and his attorney reject the reporting.
  • The coverage reports a threat of legal action but does not establish that a lawsuit has been filed.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • The Free Press Journal reports Kushner called the allegations “completely insane” and “outrageous fabrications.”
  • Mizelle wrote on X that his team had sent Simon & Schuster a detailed 13-page letter challenging the allegations and the supporting evidence.
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources do not provide a response from the Dutch intelligence service, the Main Intelligence Directorate, the UAE government, the Saudi government, First Abu Dhabi Bank, or Watani Al Emarat Foundation.
  • Kushner denies the allegations, and Mizelle says the reporting is false; the alleged intelligence access, account activity, and financial arrangements are not independently established in these accounts.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Congress enacted the Ethics in Government Act, requiring financial disclosures from senior federal officials.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Kushner’s public role in the Trump administration began with his appointment as a senior adviser on January 20, 2017.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. In 2018, the White House announced that he had completed a security-clearance process after serving for more than a year with an interim clearance.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. During that period, he led the Trump administration’s Middle East diplomacy, including work that preceded the Abraham Accords, signed by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on September 15, 2020.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. The later scrutiny of Kushner’s business dealings arose from the transition between his federal service, which ended in January 2021, and the establishment of Affinity Partners that year.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. Those rules applied to Kushner while he was a government employee; his private investment activity after January 2021 fell under different legal and disclosure requirements.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

The clearest earlier public point of comparison was the scrutiny of Jared Kushner’s post-government investment business.

Kushner founded Affinity Partners in 2021, after leaving the White House, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund committed $2 billion to the firm in 2021 despite objections from its investment-screening panel, according to reporting about the fund’s formation.

Original sources

5 articles from 3 outlets

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