Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Jared Kushner’s years of Saudi ass-kissing and murder-excusing had paid off, literally, when the country’s sovereign wealth fund gave him $2 billion for his newly formed private equity firm, Affinity Partners. How do we know it was, most likely, Kushner’s extremely friendly relationship with the kingdom and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman that sealed the deal and not, say, his investing prowess? For one thing, as The Times noted, the panel that performs due diligence for the Saudi fund concluded Kushner’s firm was a joke—that management was “inexperience[d],” that the kingdom would be responsible for “the bulk of the investment and risk,” that its fees were “excessive,” and that the firm’s operations were “unsatisfactory in all aspects.” The panel warned that the country shouldn’t give the former first son-in-law a dime. But then those grave, unequivocal warnings were mysteriously overridden by the fund’s board, led by M.B.S., i.e., the guy who approved a plan to kidnap and dismember a man via bone saw and benefited from Kushner’s unwavering support. (Kushner, The Times reminds people, “played a leading role inside the Trump administration defending [bin Salman]” after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, and urged Donald Trump to support the prince, arguing that the whole situation would blow over.)

Why else do we suspect the $2 billion was more of a reward (and a downpayment should Trump return to the White House) than it was about Kushner being an actually worthwhile investment? In addition to the due diligence panel’s reservations, there’s also the matter of Affinity’s pitch deck, which was recently obtained by The Intercept. The pitch deck manages to simultaneously demonstrate almost no investment expertise or thesis while brazenly suggesting would-be investors would benefit from the firm’s influence peddling after writing Jared a check. “Affinity carries out a thorough and in-depth assessment of potential investments and examines a range of quantitative and qualitative factors,” reads one slide, while hilariously noting that “weekly investment discussions” are one of the key parts of the “Affinity Investment System.” On the barely concealed promise to leverage Kushner’s domestic and foreign connections, the firm writes: "We approach opportunities creatively based on the concept that aligned economic interests can solve intractable problems and create previously unrealized value,” and “Affinity’s unique network and experience makes us a differentiated partner for companies navigating the rapidly evolving global political and economic environment.” As The Intercept writes, “The slides make repeated reference to Affinity’s ‘network,’ which includes a bevy of Trump administration appointees depicted in a ‘Team Members’ section,” and describes Kushner as “leading the negotiations on the historic OPEC+ oil agreement in April 2020 among the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Russia,” a not-so-subtle hint that the former senior White House adviser holds sway “with the oil-rich Saudi kingdom.”

Not surprisingly, a source told The Intercept that numerous investors approached by Affinity were not impressed by the pitch and were shocked at “how cavalierly it seemed to suggest influence peddling.” These investors reportedly said, as the source recalled, “they’d never seen such a joke of a deck, openly talking about ‘networking’ and ‘networks’—i.e., our corrupt insider contacts. ...They’re bragging about ‘networks,’ they’re using cliches, with no serious investment discussion.”

A spokesperson for Kushner insisted that there was nothing inappropriate about the deck, telling The Intercept: “Jared was very successful in the private sector before he entered government, achieved great success in government, and many are confident he will enjoy continued success in his new venture. Jared’s track record in government was unprecedented. His leadership and efforts led to the historic Abraham Accords, the [U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement] which was the largest trade deal in history, life changing criminal justice reform, Operation Warp Speed among many other achievements.” The spokesperson did not mention that Kushner’s private sector work was strictly for companies owned by his father, or ones he bought with his father’s money. Or that his most famous deal was the one in which he spent billions to acquire an aging midtown skyscraper on the eve of the financial crisis that became an albatross around the family business’s neck, before being conveniently bailed out by Qatar.

Last week Senator Elizabeth Warren said the Department of Justice should investigate the $2 billion Saudi investment. On Monday, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics wrote on Twitter: “If people actually cared about corruption by the president’s family members, Saudi Arabia giving Jared Kushner $2 billion would be the biggest story in America right now.” A day prior, MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan tweeted that the investment represents a “huge story of both corruption and human rights abuses” that the media and others shouldn‘t just “move on” from. So yeah, it seems worth looking into!

If you would like to receive the Levin Report in your inbox daily, click here to subscribe.

Trump swears he doesn’t have the thousands of documents subpoenaed by the New York attorney general, should not be fined $10,000 a day for withholding them

According to the former president, he doesn’t have the records in question, though the company he owns and controls might. Per CNN:

Former President Donald Trump does not have any documents subpoenaed by the New York attorney general's office as part of its civil investigation into the Trump Organization's finances and shouldn't be held in contempt, he told a state court. “After conducting a diligent search and review, Respondent's counsel determined that Respondent was not in possession of any documents responsive to the Subpoena and that all potentially responsive documents were in the possession, custody or control of the Trump Organization,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a court filing Tuesday.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to hold Trump in contempt and fine him $10,000 a day for failing to comply with a subpoena sent in December for documents. Investigators are seeking documents and communications related to Trump's statements of financial condition, valuation of assets on the statements, and records used to prepare the statements, according to the subpoena. James’ subpoena also seeks records relating to the financing of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago, conservation easements, planned development at the Trump family estate known as Seven Springs, insurance coverage, and records about his wealth that were provided to reporters with Forbes magazine.

Last month, New York judge Arthur Engoron gave the Trump Organization a deadline to comply with James’s subpoenas by April 29, not long after the A.G.’s office said it had uncovered “significant” evidence “indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.” In January, prosecutors said in a filing that Trump Organization general counsel Alan Garten had testified that the company kept filling cabinets of Post-It notes the famously email-averse Trump used to communicate with employees. “This file was never searched because the Trump Organization determined, improbably, that Mr. Trump was not involved in the preparation of his own financial statements,” James’s office wrote.

Trump, of course, had denied any and all wrongdoing, and a spokesperson for the Trump Organization told CNN the “allegations are baseless and will be vigorously defended.” During a rally in February, the former president referred to James (and two other Black prosecutors), though didn’t directly name, as “vicious, horrible people” and claimed “they’re racists and they’re very sick, they’re mentally sick.” Then he encouraged his supporters to launch “the biggest protest we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta, and elsewhere,” if “these radical racist vicious prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal,” a call to arms that was more than a little concerning given what happened the last time Trump told his followers to fight on his behalf.

Marjorie Taylor Greene really doesn’t want the media to see her testify under oath about the Capitol attack

Report: Donald Trump apparently unable to get through basic interview about the 2020 election

The former guy apparently withered under questioning from [checks notes] Piers Morgan. 

Trump blasted Piers Morgan as “very dishonest” while walking out of an interview with the TV presenter and Post columnist after being pressed on his claims that he lost the 2020 presidential election due to voter fraud. The 45th president became increasingly frustrated with Morgan’s questions, at one point calling him a “fool,” according to clips of the sit-down…. Elsewhere, Morgan told Trump the 2020 vote “was a free and fair election. You lost.”

“Only a fool would think that,” Trump shot back. “You think I’m a fool?” Morgan retorted. “I do now, yeah,” Trump responded. 

According to the New York Post, informed that he hasn’t “produced the hard evidence” that the election was stolen, Trump told Morgan: “I don’t think you’re real.” Later, he attempted to end the interview by shouting “That’s it!” but couldn’t help himself and “remained in his seat to discuss a recent hole-in-one he scored while playing golf.” After that, he demanded the crew turn the cameras off. 

Elsewhere!

West sends Ukraine heavy weapons, warplanes as Donbas fighting intensifies (The Washington Post)

Kremlin Insiders Alarmed Over Growing Toll of Putin’s War (Bloomberg)

US Treasury secretary and other finance ministers walk out of G20 meeting with Russia (CNN)

Tesla shareholders try to get Elon Musk to just stop (CNN)

Goldman Sachs Scraps Free Lunch, Marking End of Pandemic Office Perk (Bloomberg)

Judge approves Julian Assange’s extradition to U.S. over spying charges (NYP)

N.Y. Gov. Hochul warns of “rising tide” of COVID cases as omicron subvariants drive infection surge (CNBC)

When to get a booster: The tricky calculation for a fourth coronavirus shot (The Washington Post)

Man inhales drill bit during dental visit (AP)

Japan researchers develop electric chopsticks (Reuters)

— Inside the Virus-Hunting Nonprofit at the Center of the Lab-Leak Controversy
— Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Probably Won’t Be Splitting a Milkshake Anytime Soon
— CNN Leaves the Drama Behind With Focus on War in Ukraine
— Trump’s Truth Social Is an Even Bigger Humiliation Than Previous Business Failures
— The Clock Is Ticking on the January 6 Investigation
— The Washington Post Checks In, Finds Trump Is Still a Lying Sociopath
— A Ukrainian Woman Explains the War to Europe’s Skeptics
— From the Archive: How Playboy Imran Khan Became the Prime Minister of Pakistan
— Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.