SUSPICIOUS

Report: U.S. Officials Warned Kushner to Be Wary of Wendi Deng Murdoch

Counterintelligence officials reportedly feared she might be pushing the interests of Beijing on U.S. soil.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner received a warning from U.S. counterintelligence officials in early 2017 that Chinese-American businesswoman Wendi Deng Murdoch may try to use her friendship with him to lobby the interests of the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal reports. A source familiar with the situation told the Journal that Murdoch, who has close ties both to Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, was suspected of lobbying for a planned $300 million Chinese garden in Washington, D.C. The project reportedly set off alarm bells because it included a 70-foot tower that intelligence officials feared could be used for surveillance. Kushner was not given any details about the intelligence community’s assessment of Murdoch, an ex-wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, but was advised to be wary of any individuals who might be representing the interests of foreign governments, according to the report. A representative for Kushner and Trump said the warning came as part of a “routine senior staff security briefing.” A spokesman for Murdoch said she has “no knowledge of any garden projects funded by the Chinese government.”