Witness: Federal conflict rules apply to Jared Kushner; enforcement questioned

A questioner at an Oversight Committee Democrats hearing accused Jared Kushner of helping to "push us into war," saying the conflict has raised energy and consumer costs and "so far cost taxpayers over a hundred billion dollars." The questioner also alleged Kushner solicited "billions of dollars from sovereign wealth funds" while negotiating U.S. foreign policy and asked whether that presented a conflict of interest.

A witness answering at the hearing said the situation presented "an obvious conflict of interest" and cautioned that "foregoing a federal salary doesn't mean that you are not essentially exercising substantial federal roles or policies." The witness told the panel that officials in these settings are typically "Senate confirmed executive branch officials," and that those officials and diplomats must comply with the federal conflict-of-interest statute that requires recusal when they are personally and substantially involved in a matter.

On enforcement, the witness said the Department of Justice is the usual enforcer of those rules. When asked why the statute might not be enforced in the Kushner matter, the witness responded that in Kushner's case the difficulty is that "he alleges he's not an actual employee of the federal government," which complicates applying employee-based restrictions and recusal requirements.

The exchange ended with the questioner characterizing the administration as "the most corrupt administration in history, bar none." The hearing record shows allegations and a legal explanation of the statute and enforcement mechanism, but it does not record any formal finding, referral, or vote during this exchange.