Kushner Calls Book's Hacked Phone, Foreign Cash Claims 'Insane'

More than $2 billion in transfers from Middle Eastern governments is the figure at the center of a dispute over a forthcoming book by journalist Matthew Cole. Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, is rejecting the account as fabricated.

The book, "Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East," asserts Kushner held access to funds described as "slush money funds" from leaders in the region. An excerpt published Thursday in Vanity Fair covers Kushner's tenure as senior White House adviser during the first Trump administration, a period in which he helped negotiate foreign policy agreements involving Israel, Gulf states, China and Russia. CBS News has not independently verified the excerpt.

The excerpt states Dutch intelligence agents learned in 2017 that Russia had compromised Kushner's iPhone. After turning a Russian spy, the agents reportedly obtained access to the device themselves and could observe his screen. The account says the service captured every image Kushner viewed, including a login to a United Arab Emirates account that had received hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan.

The report also alleges leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE placed at least $2 billion into bank accounts associated with Kushner, one held at Israel's Central Bank. It states the account owners and managers were often presented as official government bodies or charities. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is said to have placed roughly $1 billion in at least one account, citing a "person with knowledge of the money" who said the allocation was for Kushner's personal benefit.

Kushner issued a denial Thursday night. "The allegations made by this author are completely insane and never happened," Kushner said, adding that his side denied every claim on the record, yet the author offered "not a single shred of verifiable evidence." He noted no bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers or transaction dates were provided.

His attorney called the claims "false and defamatory" and said legal action would be pursued. Steven Cheung, assistant to the president and White House director of communications, wrote on X that the source book is "complete fiction" and fabricated by a "failed spy thriller writer," adding the book presents no evidence or documentation, only "mysterious words from unnamed sources."

The book's allegations concern the first Trump administration, when Kushner took a leading part in U.S. Middle East policy.