If you thought the Trump family saga ended when they left the White House, think again. This week in October 2026, Washington's political circles have been set ablaze by an upcoming book, and the storm's eye is once again fixed on the figure who always seems to sit at the center of controversy—Jared Kushner.
The firestorm began when Vanity Fair published an excerpt from investigative journalist Matthew Cole's new book, The Prince and the Thief: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East. The allegations are specific and explosive: while serving as a senior adviser during Trump's first term, Kushner may have been caught—through the eavesdropping eyes of Dutch military intelligence (MIVD)—with access to a secret bank account at a bank in Dubai, UAE. The account reportedly involved massive sums from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, totaling approximately $2 billion.
Dutch intelligence officers noticed Kushner logging into a bank account in Dubai. The account allegedly belonged to a charity funded by the UAE government, but Kushner reportedly had signing authority. The transaction records showed roughly $750 million from Saudi and Emirati royal families, with another $1 billion transferred to Israel. Anonymous sources in the book claim the money's purpose was tied to advancing the Abraham Accords and reshaping the Middle East's geopolitical landscape—with one claim suggesting Kushner promised, "If you contribute, I'll push your agenda in front of Trump."
"There are no bank statements, no wire transfers, no account numbers, no transaction dates, and no other verifiable details to support these extraordinary allegations," Kushner wrote. He emphasized that during Trump's first term he was "one of the most scrutinized people in the world," having testified for over 30 hours before Congress and faced special counsel investigations—if this had happened, it would have been uncovered long ago.
Kushner's lawyer, Chad Mizelle, not only denied the account's existence but sent a 13-page legal letter to publisher Simon & Schuster threatening litigation, calling the allegations "false and defamatory." Even Barak Ravid, an Axios journalist often critical of Trump, raised technical doubts, arguing that setting up such an account at an Israeli bank with Netanyahu as a signatory would be "nearly impossible" from a regulatory standpoint.
What makes this Vanity Fair revelation so significant is that it attempts to tear down the wall between private business and national diplomacy. If even part of the book's allegations are true, it would mean a senior adviser to the President—and a central architect of the Middle East peace plan—may have simultaneously managed a secret pool of funds bankrolled by relevant foreign governments while shaping policies that transformed the region. That goes beyond ordinary ethical controversy and touches on legal red lines.
Of course, we must remain cautious. Dutch intelligence agency MIVD told NOS it does not comment on intelligence sources or methods. The book's core evidence—the alleged bank records and screen captures—has not been made public or independently verified by any third party. Kushner's camp denies everything outright, calling it "a mixture of fantasy, fiction, and advocacy."
For readers following US politics and Middle East affairs, the next things to watch are: Will Simon & Schuster bow to legal pressure and revise the content? Will congressional Democrats use this to restart or escalate investigations? And most importantly—is Kushner's claim of "no evidence at all" because the evidence truly doesn't exist, or because it has been carefully "preserved" by intelligence agencies or other forces?
For now, Kushner remains involved in Trump's second-term foreign policy, even dispatched to participate in Russia-Ukraine negotiations. This storm sparked by a single book may be just another episode in Washington's long political tug-of-war—but the gray zone it exposes, where money, intelligence, and power intersect, is what truly keeps our eyes fixed on it.
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