Kushner's lawyers demand Vanity Fair remove excerpt alleging secret foreign accounts

Centre · 1Lawyers for Jared Kushner sent a formal demand letter to Condé Nast, Vanity Fair's publisher, on October 23, 2026, asking for immediate removal of a Vanity Fair article that excerpts Matthew Cole's forthcoming book Princes and Thieves. 1 Centre · 1The letter, signed by Thomas A. Clare and Eric D. Hageman of Clare Locke LLP, says the October 22 excerpt accuses Kushner of secretly receiving billions of dollars from the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates while serving in the White House. 1 Centre · 1According to the lawyers, the article alleges that Kushner hid funds in covert accounts in Abu Dhabi and Israel, moved money through Cyprus and traded US foreign policy influence in return; they call this "defamatory per se" and say it amounts to accusations of bribery and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. 1

Centre · 1Kushner's attorneys deny the allegations: they wrote that Kushner "was never a signatory to, never had access to, and never knew of any 'Alpha' account at First Abu Dhabi Bank", held no account at Israel's central bank and no bank account in Cyprus, and never received or directed money from a foreign government or tied US policy to personal financial benefit. 1 Centre · 1The letter argues that real transactions would have left bank records, wire transfers and account documents, that Cole has produced none despite repeated requests, and that the claims rest mainly on unnamed sources and secondhand intelligence accounts. 1 Centre · 1The lawyers say Vanity Fair published despite having detailed written denials sent on July 30 and August 10, 2026, to Cole and publisher Simon & Schuster; they say the article acknowledged some denials but left out others, including that Kushner regularly received US counterintelligence briefings and was never told that the phone had been compromised. 1

Centre · 1The letter also argues Vanity Fair is legally responsible for republishing the claims on its website and social media whatever their origin, and cites US defamation law to say that publishing "inherently improbable" accusations while disregarding contrary evidence could support a finding of actual malice. 1 Centre · 1As of Hindustan Times' report, Vanity Fair had not publicly responded, and neither Cole nor Simon & Schuster had commented on the demand. 1 Right · 1In a Jerusalem Post opinion piece, Gershon Baskin, Middle East director of the International Communities Organization, focused on the article's claim that about $1 billion was transferred into a Bank of Israel account connected to Kushner and, per one source, meant for personal benefit. 2

Right · 1Baskin argues the Bank of Israel is the central bank and does not offer private accounts to individuals, so a personal account would conflict with its published rules; he allows that money could have moved through an institutional account but says that would need specific evidence and that the article should have said who the legal account holder was. 2 Right · 1Baskin says he has no knowledge of Kushner's private finances and does not know whether the article's other allegations are true; he describes personally knowing Kushner and judging Kushner a growing ally of Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, and says he sees no reason to accept the Bank of Israel claim until it is explained. 2