Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and point man for the Middle East, is said to have drawn the ire of top White House officials over perceived conflicts of interest between his business dealings and his role in the Trump administration.
According to Kushner, Inc., a yet-to-be released book by investigative reporter Vicky Ward already seen by The Guardian, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Kushner in June 2017 that his support for the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar, which hosted some 10,000 American troops, "had endangered the US".
As per the Guardian report, Tillerson also read negative "chatter" about himself in intelligence reports after Kushner "belittled" him to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Gary Cohn, formerly Trump's chief economic adviser, is said to have lashed out at Kushner shortly after the latter took office in January 2017. Kushner, who had by then stepped down as the CEO of real estate developer Kushner Companies, had a meeting with executives from the Chinese financial conglomerate Angbang, which was exploring an investment in his troubled Fifth Avenue tower.
"You've got to be crazy," Cohn was quoted as telling Kushner in front of others; the meeting with Angbang executives reportedly took place around the time he hosted Chinese government officials in the Fifth Avenue skyscraper.
Trump's son-in-law ended talks with the Chinese corporation without a deal, and his property was later bailed out by Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management, a firm linked with the Qatari deep-pocketed sovereign wealth fund.
Vicky Ward also alleges that Kushner's spouse Ivanka Trump had interjected in phone conversations between Donald Trump and foreign officials — presumably, in violation of her duty of loyalty. "Thanks so much for the CD you sent me," Ivanka, the former vice president of the Trump Organization, which is doing business with India, reportedly told an Indian leader.
White House staffers are said to have chastised Kushner as the "secretary of everything" for his influence in the administration and slammed Ivanka's team as Habi — "home of all bad ideas".
Vicky Ward goes on to detail a confrontation between the couple and John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff, as well as Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist.
According to the report, Bannon described Kushner as evolving from "a little boy" to a "f**king devil" during an argument.
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Bannon also claims to have told Ivanka Trump: "Go f**k yourself… you are nothing" in front of her father, while Ivanka retaliated by calling Bannon a "f**king liar".
Both Tillerson and Kushner have yet to comment on these claims. Trump's son-in-law has come under fire on multiple occasions for his handling of Middle East diplomacy. Last week, Democratic lawmakers asked the attorney general to open a criminal case against Jared Kushner amid reports that he had had secret meetings with Saudi officials, including MBS, and concealed the substance of these meetings from US officials.