Jared Kushner torches ‘deeply misleading’ CNN report about investments tied to Israeli military

WASHINGTON, DC: Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and US special envoy, brutally lashed out at CNN and accused the network of publishing a "deeply misleading story and headline," alleging his private equity firm had ties to a company heavily involved in Israel’s military.

The husband of first daughter Ivanka Trump took to X (formerly Twitter) to rebuke a paywall-protected CNN report headlined, "How Jared Kushner’s firm’s investment in an Israeli company could be a major conflict of interest.”

The investigative report, published Thursday, October 1, noted that Kushner acted as a key negotiator regarding the war in Gaza while his company, Affinity Partners, "held the largest stake in an Israeli firm backing businesses involved in Israel’s military campaigns."

Jared Kushner accuses CNN of hiding truth 'behind the paywall'

Kushner pushed back on CNN’s framing, arguing that the details in the network’s own report did not support the headline and that readers without a subscription could not access the full context.

"Buried behind a paywall, it acknowledges: ‘CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed,’" he wrote.

Indeed, CNN said it found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly impacted the investments, but that point was buried 10 paragraphs deep and only visible to the outlet's paid subscribers.

The report said CNN used Israeli financial transparency laws to trace some of Phoenix Financial’s military-linked investments. The Tel Aviv-based firm, in which Kushner’s investment group doubled its stake last year shortly before Donald Trump returned to the White House, was found to have invested “hundreds of millions of dollars” in Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems.

According to CNN, Phoenix also holds stakes in at least eight other companies supplying equipment to the Israeli military, ranging from drones and warships to demolition machinery.

"All nine companies identified by CNN saw their stock value climb last year, with many stating the war in Gaza had driven demand for their businesses," the CNN report continued. "Affinity doesn’t directly hold a stake in the nine companies CNN identified — but it does stand to reap rewards when Phoenix makes a profit."

Jared Kushner insists Phoenix is not a defense company

In his response, Kushner pushed back on CNN’s characterization, saying Phoenix is not a defense company and standing by his firm’s investments.

"It is one of Israel’s largest publicly traded financial institutions, highly regulated and managing approximately $220 billion across thousands of investments," he wrote.

"Think of Phoenix as the Israeli equivalent of Vanguard or Fidelity. It manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis. The savers don’t choose the individual investments, and neither do I," Kushner continued. "I have no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells. It has performed very well for Affinity and our investors, up more than five times since our initial investment."

The 45-year-old added that Affinity is an SEC-registered investment firm.

Kushner said the investment in Phoenix was public and had been made before Trump was reelected and before he returned to public service. He also stressed that “Affinity does not own the defense companies highlighted in CNN’s story.”

“Those facts make for a less provocative headline, but a much more accurate story,” Kushner wrote, adding that the reporting would not distract him from the work Trump had asked him to do: “Help end wars, bring people together and pursue peace.”