Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, asked Jared Kushner’s private equity firm Affinity Partners for information about its Middle East business dealings after CNN reported on Affinity’s investment in Israeli financial firm Phoenix Financial. The reported connection is indirect: Affinity holds a stake in Phoenix, which has invested in companies supplying Israel’s military. The request raises questions about potential conflicts; it does not establish wrongdoing or show that Kushner’s diplomatic work directed the investments.
What Garcia asked Affinity Partners
In a letter reported on October 6, 2026, Garcia sought detailed information about Affinity Partners’ Middle East business dealings. The House Oversight Democrats’ official release frames the request as an inquiry into an apparent conflict of interest, while Garcia’s letter alleges that Kushner’s role as a Middle East and Gaza negotiator alongside his firm’s investment interests presents significant conflicts. Those are Garcia’s concerns and allegations, not adjudicated findings.
The request is not a subpoena. CNN Newsource reported that information requests from minority-party Oversight lawmakers are voluntary and can be ignored without legal consequences. A subpoena requires authorization by the committee chair or a committee vote, according to the same account.
How Affinity, Phoenix Financial and military suppliers are linked
The reported relationship has two steps: Affinity Partners is a shareholder in Phoenix Financial, and Phoenix has investments in companies that supply Israel’s military. CNN Newsource reported that Affinity does not directly own shares in the nine suppliers identified in CNN’s review. That distinction matters: the reported exposure is through Phoenix, not direct ownership of those suppliers by Affinity.
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The House Oversight Democrats’ release cites more than $456 million invested by Phoenix in nine companies supplying Israel’s military, including the country’s largest arms manufacturer. CNN Newsource’s account says the records reviewed captured only some of Phoenix’s holdings and focused on insurance holdings rather than retirement accounts. The figure is therefore a reported amount tied to a limited review, not a complete statement of Phoenix’s investments or evidence by itself of wrongdoing.
What is known about the timing and Kushner’s role
CNN Newsource reported that Affinity doubled its stake in Phoenix in 2025, shortly before Donald Trump returned to the White House. It also reported that Kushner called Phoenix Affinity’s “best investment” in September 2025. The account does not independently document the transaction terms or valuation.
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CNN Newsource said CNN found no indication that Kushner’s diplomatic actions directly affected the investments it reviewed. Kushner’s attorney told CNN that Kushner had never participated in or directed Phoenix’s investment decisions, saying, “Jared has no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells.” This is the attorney’s denial as reported by CNN Newsource, not an independently verified account of every decision.
What happens next
As of the October 6 report, Affinity and Kushner had not responded to an earlier information request made in March. That does not establish whether they responded to Garcia’s new October letter.
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Garcia’s press release characterizes the potential conflicts as serious security concerns that should be investigated. Kushner, in a post on X quoted by CNN Newsource, said: “Misleading stories will not distract me from the work President Trump asked me to do: help end wars, bring people together and pursue peace.” These statements present opposing positions; neither changes the limits of what the reported investment records establish.
The available account supports a distinction between a potential conflict concern and a proven conflict, and between a reported indirect investment link and evidence that diplomacy influenced investment decisions. CNN Newsource’s report supplies the account of CNN’s findings and their stated scope; the committee release supplies Garcia’s framing and allegations.
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