Russia's Best Friend in India Just Got a $300 Billion Deal From Trump

Oct 26

The Alpha Account Matthew Cole's new book alleges Gulf rulers put at least $2 billion into accounts for Jared Kushner while he was a senior White House adviser. Kushner calls it completely insane. Princes and Thieves, a forthcoming book by investigative journalist Matthew Cole excerpted in Vanity ...Read more

The Alpha Account Matthew Cole's new book alleges Gulf rulers put at least $2 billion into accounts for Jared Kushner while he was a senior White House adviser. Kushner calls it completely insane. Princes and Thieves, a forthcoming book by investigative journalist Matthew Cole excerpted in Vanity Fair on October 22, alleges that Dutch military intelligence, the MIVD, turned a GRU-linked hacker, found screenshots of Jared Kushner's iPhone on a server in Rostov, Russia, and by early 2018 could see his screen. Cole's sources describe an account called Alpha at First Abu Dhabi Bank, held with an Emirati charity, with Kushner made a signatory. From 2017 the Saudis and Emiratis transferred roughly $750 million into it through a bank in Azerbaijan, Cole writes, and at least $2 billion in total went into at least two accounts for Kushner. One source said about $1 billion the UAE's ruler moved to Israel was for Kushner's personal benefit, and another said Prime Minister Netanyahu encouraged depositing it at the Bank of Israel so it would look like a government account, Daniel Edelson reported for Ynet. Cole also reports transfers to a warlord, a mercenary and a one-time hit man. Kushner calls the allegations completely insane and says the book offers no bank statements or wire records, CBS reported. His lawyer Chad Mizelle calls them false and defamatory. Former Ambassador David Friedman calls the claims about him 100% false. CBS did not independently verify the excerpt. The Washington Post reported in 2018 that UAE officials considered Kushner particularly manipulable. After he left office, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund committed $2 billion to Affinity Partners, which charges it a 1.25% annual fee, the Senate Finance Committee found. Read the October 23 edition of American Princelings https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-379 More reading Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, Oct 22 2026 https://www.vanityfair.com/story/jared-kushner-hacked-phone-secret-negotiations CBS News, Kushner pushes back on report https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jared-kushner-pushes-back-report-hacked-phone-spies-transfer/ Sources Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, October 22 2026 https://www.vanityfair.com/story/jared-kushner-hacked-phone-secret-negotiations Nicole Sganga, CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jared-kushner-pushes-back-report-hacked-phone-spies-transfer/ Louis Gore-Langton, DutchNews, October 23 2026 https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/10/dutch-spies-hacked-jared-kushners-phone-alleges-book/ NL Times, October 23 2026 https://nltimes.nl/2026/10/23/dutch-intelligence-service-spied-phone-trumps-son-law-jared-kushner-book Daniel Edelson, Ynet, October 23 2026 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1avqqu2zl ANI via The Tribune https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/usa-news/trumps-son-in-law-kushner-rubbishes-allegations-of-connection-to-middle-east-slush-funds/ Washington Post, February 27 2018 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kushners-overseas-contacts-raise-concerns-as-foreign-officials-seek-leverage/2018/02/27/16bbc052-18c3-11e8-942d-16a950029788_story.html Senate Finance Committee, September 25 2024 https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-investigation-of-kushner-firm-continues-new-letter-outlines-affinity-partners-fee-structure-lack-of-return-to-investors-questionable-deals-with-foreign-governments

Oct 26

Signed in September, Waived in October Congress passed Russia sanctions 86 to 11 in the Senate and 262 to 159 in the House. The president signed the law, then waived nearly all of it two days before it took effect. President Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 202...Read more

Signed in September, Waived in October Congress passed Russia sanctions 86 to 11 in the Senate and 262 to 159 in the House. The president signed the law, then waived nearly all of it two days before it took effect. President Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on September 18, CBS reported. The Senate had passed it 86 to 11 and the House 262 to 159. It set a 500% tariff on Russian goods and possible 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, due October 18, Newsweek reports. Late on October 16 the president signed an order waiving nearly all of the law's substantive sanctions, tariffs and restrictions, RFE/RL reports, with no end date. White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said enforcement would impede efforts to negotiate a durable peace. Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's investment envoy, called the waiver an important and truly historic moment. Sens. Thom Tillis, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Rep. Don Bacon criticized it. On October 19 a Russian drone struck a park in Nova Vodolaha in Kharkiv Oblast and killed six people, children among them, the Kyiv Independent reported. On October 21 envoy Steve Witkoff told Putin "You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that" while thanking him for releasing American Stephen Hubbard, CBS reported. On October 22 J. Benjamin Greenberg, a Circle shareholder, sued the president, World Liberty Financial and Witkoff in federal court in Washington, alleging more than $2 billion in foreign government payments, CNBC reported. Witkoff's sons Zach and Alex are WLF cofounders, Bloomberg reported. WLF's lawyer Bill Burck called the suit a partisan press release, and the White House said there are no conflicts of interest. Read the October 23 edition of American Princelings https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-379 More reading RFE/RL, Trump waives Graham Act sanctions on Russia, Oct 17 2026 https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-waives-graham-act-sanctions-on-russia/33878335.html CNBC, Lawsuit accuses Trump of illegally profiting off foreign crypto deals, Oct 22 2026 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/22/trump-world-liberty-crypto-lawsuit-uae.html Sources Alex Raufoglu, RFE/RL, October 17 2026 https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-waives-graham-act-sanctions-on-russia/33878335.html Steve Mollman, Newsweek, October 2026 https://www.newsweek.com/list-republicans-breaking-trump-russia-sanctions-waiver-12590802 Al Jazeera and AP, October 17 2026 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/17/trump-faces-bipartisan-backlash-over-russia-sanctions-waiver TASS, October 17 2026 https://tass.com/politics/2203447 Kathryn Watson and Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, September 18 2026 https://cbsnews.com/news/trump-signs-russia-sanctions-bill-lindsey-graham/ Office of Sen. Kevin Cramer, August 7 2026 https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senate-approves-sweeping-russia-sanctions-bill Lauren Peller, ABC News https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/house-passes-russia-iran-sanctions-bill-championed-sen-136510615 Tania Myronyshena, Kyiv Independent, October 19 2026 https://kyivindependent.com/russian-drone-strike-on-park-in-kharkiv-oblast-kills-children-and-infant/ Kathryn Watson, CBS News, October 21 2026 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-witkoff-putin-humanitarian-backlash/ Luke Fountain and Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, October 22 2026 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/22/trump-world-liberty-crypto-lawsuit-uae.html Susan Carpenter, Spectrum News, October 22 2026 https://spectrumlocalnews.com/us/snplus/politics/2026/10/22/circle-crypto-trump-lawsuit-foreign-emoluments Natalia Drozdiak and Bill Allison, Bloomberg, September 17 2025 https://news.bloomberglaw.com/securities-law/steve-witkoff-has-yet-to-divest-trump-linked-crypto-assets

Oct 26

Who Signed for Your $108 Million Jet DOJ has opened a criminal probe into Corey Lewandowski, Noem's top DHS adviser. DHS agreed to pay $108 million for a jet its seller had bought from an owner asking under $90 million. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandow...Read more

Who Signed for Your $108 Million Jet DOJ has opened a criminal probe into Corey Lewandowski, Noem's top DHS adviser. DHS agreed to pay $108 million for a jet its seller had bought from an owner asking under $90 million. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Corey Lewandowski, President Trump's first campaign manager and the top adviser to former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, following a referral from the DHS inspector general, the New York Times reported on October 22. What actions are under investigation remains unclear, and no one has been charged. Lewandowski served as an unpaid special government employee. He or close associates signed off on nearly all department spending above $100,000, the Wall Street Journal reports. NBC News reported in March that Noem largely delegated that review to him and that he sought what one person called a success fee from GEO Group, which declined. The inspector general's review began with a roughly $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem. On Noem's last morning as secretary, DHS agreed to pay Daedalus Aviation $108 million for a Boeing 737 converted into a private jet, the Times reported. Daedalus had bought it months earlier from a seller who asked under $90 million. Chairman William Walters gave $10,000 in 2024 to American Resolve, a PAC that supported Noem. The Washington Sun reports DHS first tied the purchase records to an ongoing criminal investigation, then said that reply was sent in error. Lewandowski denies any wrongdoing. Noem calls the donor label materially misleading. Read the October 23 edition of American Princelings https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-379 More reading New York Times via GV Wire, DOJ opens probe into Corey Lewandowski, Oct 22 2026 https://gvwire.com/2026/10/22/doj-opens-probe-into-former-kristi-noem-aid-corey-lewandowski/ Washington Sun, DHS airplane records, Oct 20 2026 https://www.washingtonsun.com/legal/kristi-noem-dhs-airplanes-foia Sources Glenn Thrush, Tyler Pager and Nicholas Nehamas, New York Times via GV Wire, October 22 2026 https://gvwire.com/2026/10/22/doj-opens-probe-into-former-kristi-noem-aid-corey-lewandowski/ Drew Berkemeyer, Daily Wire, October 22 2026 https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-investigates-whether-corey-lewandowski-cashed-in-on-homeland-security-role Julia Ainsley, NBC News via Yahoo, March 19 2026 https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/dhs-contractors-told-white-house-100000995.html Mark Alfred, Washington Sun, October 20 2026 https://www.washingtonsun.com/legal/kristi-noem-dhs-airplanes-foia Jennie Taer, Daily Wire, October 5 2026 https://www.dailywire.com/news/kristi-noem-accused-of-giving-bloated-contract-to-donor-in-final-hours-running-dhs Office of Sen. Peter Welch, March 23 2026 https://www.welch.senate.gov/?p=12404

Oct 26

$50 Million, Then a Pardon A banker charged with bribing Puerto Rico's governor. His daughter's new company guaranteed Alina Habba more than $50 million. Then the president pardoned him. Julio Herrera Velutini, a billionaire banker from a prominent Venezuelan family, was charged in August 2022 for...Read more

$50 Million, Then a Pardon A banker charged with bribing Puerto Rico's governor. His daughter's new company guaranteed Alina Habba more than $50 million. Then the president pardoned him. Julio Herrera Velutini, a billionaire banker from a prominent Venezuelan family, was charged in August 2022 for his role in a scheme to bribe Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez to dismiss a regulator investigating his bank, the New York Times reports. In August 2025 he pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor campaign finance charge. On October 22, 2025, his daughter Isabela, 27, registered Concord Partners LLC in Florida, state records show. Days later Concord finalized a deal making Alina Habba general counsel at $10 million a year for four years, guaranteeing her more than $50 million with bonuses, while she was still serving as U.S. attorney in New Jersey, Tyler Pager reported for the Times. Isabela Herrera gave $3.5 million to MAGA Inc., the Campaign Legal Center found. On January 15, 2026, the president pardoned Herrera Velutini, Vázquez and former FBI agent Mark Rossini, Justice Department records show. People familiar with Habba's contract told the Times they believed she was brought in to help with the pardon push. Habba says any insinuation that her employment had anything to do with securing a pardon is false. A White House official says she had nothing to do with the pardon. The Herreras did not respond to requests for comment. Read the October 23 edition of American Princelings https://dekleptocracy.substack.com/p/american-princelings-379 More reading New York Times via GV Wire, A billionaire wanted a Trump pardon. His family gave Alina Habba a $50 million deal, Oct 21 2026 https://gvwire.com/2026/10/21/a-billionaire-wanted-a-trump-pardon-his-family-gave-alina-habba-a-50-million-deal/ Justice Department, Clemency grants by President Donald J. Trump https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present Sources Tyler Pager, with Kenneth P. Vogel, New York Times via GV Wire, October 21 2026 https://gvwire.com/2026/10/21/a-billionaire-wanted-a-trump-pardon-his-family-gave-alina-habba-a-50-million-deal/ New York Times, original story, October 20 2026 https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/us/politics/julio-herrera-pardon-alina-habba.html U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney, Clemency grants https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-grants-president-donald-j-trump-2025-present Saurav Ghosh, Campaign Legal Center, February 17 2026 https://campaignlegal.org/update/seeking-pardon-foreign-billionaire-allegedly-funneled-millions-trump-super-pac Florida Division of Corporations, Concord Partners LLC, document L25000485197 https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ByName Diario Libre, October 22 2026 https://www.diariolibre.com/mundo/estados-unidos/2026/10/22/indulto-a-julio-herrera-velutini-y-su-conexion-con-wanda-vazquez/3696530

Oct 25

Who Was Jared Kushner Working For? Spies watched Kushner's phone as he logged into a UAE bank account, Matthew Cole reports. Cole counts at least $2 billion from Gulf rulers in accounts for him. In a Vanity Fair excerpt of his book Princes and Thieves, Matthew Cole reports that Russia's GRU obtain...Read more

Who Was Jared Kushner Working For? Spies watched Kushner's phone as he logged into a UAE bank account, Matthew Cole reports. Cole counts at least $2 billion from Gulf rulers in accounts for him. In a Vanity Fair excerpt of his book Princes and Thieves, Matthew Cole reports that Russia's GRU obtained screenshots of Jared Kushner's iPhone and that Dutch military intelligence, working through a flipped GRU hacker, got inside the phone by early 2018 and captured his screen as he used it. What the Dutch saw, Cole writes, was the president's senior adviser logging into an account at First Abu Dhabi Bank that had taken in roughly $750 million from the Saudis and Emiratis, routed in US dollars through a bank in Azerbaijan. The account was owned by a UAE government-funded charity and Kushner was a signatory. A second account held roughly $1 billion that UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed moved to Israel's central bank by spring 2018. Cole counts at least $2 billion in all, a year's income for 23,886 American households at the 2024 median. Four senior Trump officials told Cole they knew of no authorization for Kushner to access a foreign government's account. A former Mueller prosecutor said a promise in return for the money could violate bribery and foreign agent laws. Kushner calls the allegations "completely insane" and his lawyer calls them false and defamatory. Then there is the public record from after the White House. Saudi Arabia's sovereign fund committed $2 billion to Kushner's firm over its own advisers' objections. Senate Finance investigators found $87 million in Saudi government fees by mid-2024. Kushner now co-leads Middle East negotiations for the administration. Read more at https://dekleptocracy.substack.com More links Matthew Cole, The Art of the Deal, Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/story/jared-kushner-hacked-phone-secret-negotiations Senate Finance Committee, Affinity Partners fees and foreign clients https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-investigation-of-kushner-firm-continues-new-letter-outlines-affinity-partners-fee-structure-lack-of-return-to-investors-questionable-deals-with-foreign-governments Wyden and Raskin ask for a special counsel on FARA https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-raskin-call-for-department-of-justice-to-appoint-a-special-counsel-to-investigate-jared-kushner-for-acting-as-an-unregistered-foreign-agent Dekleptocracy on Substack https://dekleptocracy.substack.com Sources Matthew Cole, The Art of the Deal, Jared Kushner's Hacked Phone Revealed His Secret Negotiations, Including More Than $700 Million in Transfers, Vanity Fair, Oct 22 2026 https://www.vanityfair.com/story/jared-kushner-hacked-phone-secret-negotiations Archived copy of the Vanity Fair excerpt, archive.today, Oct 22 2026 https://archive.is/OzqtE Nicole Sganga, Jared Kushner pushes back on report involving hacked phone, spies, billion-dollar transfer, CBS News, Oct 23 2026 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jared-kushner-pushes-back-report-hacked-phone-spies-transfer/ Alex Backus, Donald Trump Responds to $2 Billion Jared Kushner Allegation, Newsweek, Oct 23 2026 https://www.newsweek.com/kushner-rebukes-completely-insane-report-over-hacked-phone-secret-talks-12608268 Jennifer Bowers Bahney, It's a Totally False Story, Trump Slams Vanity Fair Story on Jared Kushner, Mediaite, Oct 23 2026 https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/its-a-totally-false-story-trump-slams-vanity-fair-story-on-jared-kushner/ Dutch spies hacked Jared Kushner's phone, alleges book, DutchNews.nl, Oct 2026 https://www.dutchnews.nl/2026/10/dutch-spies-hacked-jared-kushners-phone-alleges-book/ Senate Finance Committee, Wyden investigation of Kushner firm continues, Sep 25 2024 https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-investigation-of-kushner-firm-continues-new-letter-outlines-affinity-partners-fee-structure-lack-of-return-to-investors-questionable-deals-with-foreign-governments Senate Finance Committee, Wyden and Raskin call for a special counsel to investigate Jared Kushner for acting as an unregistered foreign agent, Oct 24 2024 https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/wyden-raskin-call-for-department-of-justice-to-appoint-a-special-counsel-to-investigate-jared-kushner-for-acting-as-an-unregistered-foreign-agent Senate Finance Committee, Wyden and Garcia investigate Kushner raising billions from Middle East governments while negotiating US foreign policy, Mar 19 2026 https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-garcia-investigate-kushner-raising-billions-from-middle-east-governments-while-negotiating-us-foreign-policy Saranac Hale Spencer, FactCheck.org, Feb 9 2024, citing David D. Kirkpatrick and Kate Kelly, Before Giving Billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi Investment Fund Had Big Doubts, New York Times, Apr 10 2022 https://www.factcheck.org/2024/02/posts-misrepresent-saudi-princes-comment-on-investment-in-kushner-fund Dan Froomkin, Explosive NYT story on Jared Kushner ignored by almost everyone, Press Watch, Apr 19 2022 https://presswatchers.org/2022/04/explosive-nyt-story-on-jared-kushner-ignored-by-almost-everyone-including-the-nyt/ Kevin Liptak, Kristen Holmes, Alayna Treene and Kylie Atwood, Jared Kushner returns to forefront of Trump's Middle East diplomacy with Gaza ceasefire deal, CNN via KVIA, Oct 10 2025 https://kvia.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2025/10/10/jared-kushner-returns-to-forefront-of-trumps-middle-east-diplomacy-with-gaza-ceasefire-deal/ Alexander Bertschi Wrigley, New UAE Arms Sales Raise Concerns, Arms Control Today, Dec 2020 https://armscontrol.org/act/2020-12/news/new-uae-arms-sales-raise-concerns Trump Withdraws US from Iran Nuclear Deal, VOA Learning English, May 2018 https://learningenglish.voanews.com/amp/trump-withdraws-us-from-iran-nuvclear-deal/4385140.html US Census Bureau, Income in the United States 2024, Sep 2025 https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2025/demo/p60-286.html