Kushner likely to attend Saudi economic meeting
Jared Kushner is expected to visit Saudi Arabia next month for an economic conference, one year after a slew of businesses and political figures boycotted the event following the grisly killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Mr. Kushner, a senior White House adviser and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is expected to attend the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh — unofficially known as “Davos in the Desert” — in late October, according to a list of attendees obtained by The Washington Post. The conference is at the Ritz Carlton, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman imprisoned hundreds of the country’s business and political leaders for months in what he called an anti-corruption campaign, as he consolidated power in the oil-rich kingdom.
Mr. Kushner likely will attend the conference, but he has not yet officially confirmed, said someone familiar with his plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Last year, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin withdrew from the forum amid controversy after a team of 15 Saudi agents flew to Istanbul on government aircraft in October and killed Mr. Khashoggi, a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, inside the Saudi consulate there, where he had gone to pick up documents that he needed for his planned marriage to a Turkish woman. Investigators believe the team used a bone saw to dismember him.
The Central Intelligence Agency later concluded that the Saudi crown prince ordered the killing.
In an email statement, a White House official said it was important for the administration to continue working with partners such as Saudi Arabia on a range of issues, including the attack on Saudi oil facilities last weekend.
Mr. Kushner has maintained a close relationship with the crown prince, and his private communications with the Saudi leader on a messaging app have drawn scrutiny from Capitol Hill investigators and others in the Trump administration.