1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

Kushner needs to decide: does he work for the US government or the saudis - no man can represent two masters. Remove him from US Government representation. On Monday morning, Paramount announced a $77.9 billion hostile takeover offer (https://substack.com/redirect/fa739289-a10b-4f00-a47e-9c7d45fc660f?j=eyJ1IjoiMWc3dGR4In0.C6wb2IkANvkIT9lIPEBzJ_FnCkqs1J0FS-w1JRXSqXE) of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), an American media conglomerate that owns an iconic movie studio, HBO, and other news and entertainment properties. The offer is meant to upend Netflix’s deal to purchase WBD for $72 billion (https://substack.com/redirect/5edbfdf3-738d-4a4b-a356-f652a5a345cb?j=eyJ1IjoiMWc3dGR4In0.C6wb2IkANvkIT9lIPEBzJ_FnCkqs1J0FS-w1JRXSqXE), which WBD accepted last Friday. Paramount’s press release announcing the offer says that the $40 billion in equity financing will be “backstopped by Ellison Family and RedBird Capital (https://substack.com/redirect/58e0789a-1a41-4a96-89e5-a1db0c7dff4e?j=eyJ1IjoiMWc3dGR4In0.C6wb2IkANvkIT9lIPEBzJ_FnCkqs1J0FS-w1JRXSqXE).” The CEO of Paramount is David Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the second-wealthiest person in the world (https://substack.com/redirect/f59df731-e476-4d8c-b1e1-11f970be57ba?j=eyJ1IjoiMWc3dGR4In0.C6wb2IkANvkIT9lIPEBzJ_FnCkqs1J0FS-w1JRXSqXE). RedBird Capital is an investment fund based in New York. (The rest of the cash for the purchase will be raised as debt from American banks.) What is not mentioned in the press release is that while the equity financing is “backstopped” by American individuals and entities, the majority of the equity financing — $24 billion — comes from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar. That fact is buried on page 42 (https://substack.com/redirect/10cc86ca-7b62-4282-bf13-a1e0adafdb54?j=eyJ1IjoiMWc3dGR4In0.C6wb2IkANvkIT9lIPEBzJ_FnCkqs1J0FS-w1JRXSqXE) of a separate SEC filing. $24 billion is a massive investment by foreign governments on Paramount’s behalf. To put it in perspective, the current value of Paramount is just $15 billion (https://substack.com/redirect/5fc71d88-6ac0-4d8c-9d62-4d6f8d77e5f0?j=eyJ1IjoiMWc3dGR4In0.C6wb2IkANvkIT9lIPEBzJ_FnCkqs1J0FS-w1JRXSqXE) . Also participating in the deal is Affinity Partners (https://substack.com/redirect/10cc86ca-7b62-4282-bf13-a1e0adafdb54?j=eyJ1IjoiMWc3dGR4In0.C6wb2IkANvkIT9lIPEBzJ_FnCkqs1J0FS-w1JRXSqXE) , the private equity firm run by President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Nearly all of Affinity Partners’ assets come from the same sovereign wealth funds bankrolling the proposed Paramount takeover of WBD. Kushner collects tens of millions in fees from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries annually. Kushner’s involvement in the deal highlights the ongoing legal and ethical problems with his dual role. On the one hand, Kushner is operating as a high-ranking official representing the Trump administration in the most sensitive foreign policy matters. On the other hand, he is being paid by and partnering with Middle Eastern governments as they seek to expand their political, economic, and cultural interests