Chad Mizelle, an attorney representing Jared Kushner, demanded that Vanity Fair take down a recently published book excerpt alleging that President Donald Trump’s son-in-law had access to secret foreign bank accounts during his first term.
“We formally put Vanity Fair and Condé Nast on notice regarding the false and defamatory allegations published about our client, Jared Kushner,” Mizelle wrote in a statement on X Saturday morning. “Serious questions are now being raised about the credibility of this reporting, including by independent journalists.”
He continued: “Despite repeated requests, the author has failed to produce a single bank statement, wire transfer record, account number or other verifiable evidence supporting these extraordinary accusations.”
As Mizelle went on, he claimed that they “have seen no indication that Vanity Fair conducted any independent verification of these claims before publishing them.”
“We call on Vanity Fair to clarify publicly whether it independently verified these allegations and, if so, what evidence supports them. Or did it simply republish the author’s claims without conducting its own fact-checking?” he concluded. “We have demanded that Vanity Fair remove the article and preserve all records relating to its reporting, fact-checking, editorial review and publication.”
Mizelle also attached the letter he sent to Vanity Fair over the article in-question, which claimed the outlet has exposed itself to “serious legal risk” by sharing the excerpt from investigative journalist Matthew Cole’s forthcoming book, “Princes and Thieves.”
In the excerpt, which was published Thursday by Vanity Fair, Cole alleged that Dutch intelligence officials gained access to information from Kushner’s compromised phone and discovered evidence of secret financial arrangements involving leaders in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Investigators allegedly found that Kushner could access a UAE bank account that received hundreds of millions of dollars through Azerbaijan.
Cole further alleged that Saudi and Emirati officials arranged for at least $2 billion to be placed into accounts that Kushner could access, including one holding roughly $750 million where he was allegedly a signatory. The allegations have not been independently verified by TheWrap.
Kushner publicly denounced the allegations on X Thursday, writing, “[Vanity Fair] posted an excerpt from a book containing outrageous and categorically false allegations. The allegations made by this author are completely insane and never happened. We denied every one of these claims on the record, yet the author failed to provide a single shred of evidence to substantiate any of them.”
“No bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, transaction dates, or other verifiable details were provided to support these extraordinary accusations,” he continued. “During the period in question, I was one of the most scrutinized people in the world, subjected to intense media coverage, multiple congressional investigations, and a special counsel investigation. I voluntarily cooperated with these investigations, providing over 30 hours of testimony. None of these allegations ever surfaced, because none of these events ever happened.”
Before concluding his statement, Kushner blasted Cole’s claims as “outrageous fabrications being presented as investigative journalism.”
“This is not journalism,” he said. “It is a mixture of fantasy, fiction, and advocacy, written by someone who is either deeply disturbed or acting with sinister intent.”
Mizelle followed suit with his own statement, adding on X, “Before publication, we sent Simon & Schuster a detailed 13-page letter responding to and categorically denying the extraordinary allegations made against my client, Jared Kushner, and challenging the total absence of supporting evidence.”
“Vanity Fair has now published an excerpt amplifying these false and defamatory allegations,” he continued on Thursday. “We have seen no credible evidence substantiating any of these claims, and we question what independent verification Vanity Fair conducted before publishing them. We intend to pursue legal action against those responsible and hold them accountable.”
Representatives for Vanity Fair, Condé Nast and Simon & Schuster did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
