Jared Kushner reportedly warned that his close friend Wendi Deng Murdoch may be a Chinese spy
- Jared Kushner, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, was reportedly warned by US intelligence that his close friend Wendi Deng Murdoch could be a Chinese Spy.
- The US regularly briefs new administrations on possible foreign agents they associate with, and much of China's business interaction with the US is examined as a possible national security threat.
- Michael Wolff, the author of an explosive but questionable tell-all on the Trump administration, said Murdoch had been rumored to be a spy for years.
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, was apparently warned by US intelligence officials about one of his close friends - Chinese-American Wendi Deng Murdoch.
Murdoch, who kept her surname after being married to media mogul Rupert Murdoch for 14 years, is a prominent businesswoman, friend of Kushner, and a possible Chinese agent, US intelligence officials told Kushner, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The US intelligence community regularly briefs new administrations on possible ties to foreign agents, and the US frequently weighs Chinese investments into US companies and infrastructure as a national security risk.
China, a political adversary to the US and a rising world power, stands accused by the US of forcing foreign firms to hand over technology and protectionist practices that disproportionately favor their own companies.
US officials specifically raised concerns over a planned $100 million Chinese garden at the National Arboretum in Washington DC, which Murdoch lobbied for. The officials considered the building a national security risk as its plans included a 70-foot tower, which they feared could be used for surveillance, according to the Journal.
Kushner, his wife Ivanka Trump, and Murdoch, have been friends for years and regularly appear in each other's social media posts. Murdoch posted this image of her and Ivanka in January 2017:
A spokesperson for Kushner and Trump said the couple has "been friends with Rupert and Wendi Murdoch for a decade before coming to Washington and their relationship is neither political nor about China."
But Michael Wolff, the author of an explosive and sometimes questionable tell-all about Trump's presidential campaign and early presidency tweeted a different response to the story.
"Since their divorce, Murdoch has been telling anybody who would listen that Wendi is a Chinese spy--and had been throughout the marriage," wrote Wolff.
A spokesman for Murdoch told the Wall Street Journal that she "has no knowledge of any FBI concerns or other intelligence agency concerns relating to her or her associations."