Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald J. Trump and one of his senior advisers, was warned by counterintelligence officials last year that the former wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch might be using her close friendship with Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, to help push the agenda of the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Wendi Deng Murdoch, a Chinese-American businesswoman was reportedly lobbying for a $100 million Chinese-funded garden project at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., that would have included a 70-foot-tall white tower perceived to be a national security risk because it could potentially be used for surveillance. The project was located on elevated land less than five miles from the Capitol and the White House.
A spokesman for Murdoch told the WSJ that she "has no knowledge of any FBI concerns or other intelligence agency concerns relating to her or her associations" and, "has absolutely no knowledge of any garden projects funded by the Chinese government."
Senior members of a new administration are routinely warned about interactions with people with foreign connections, and a representative for Kushner and Ivanka Trump described officials' warnings as a "routine senior staff security briefing" and added that Kushner "has complied with all ethics and disclosure recommendations and has played a helpful role in strengthening the U.S.-China relationship so as to help bring about a better resolution to the many issues the countries have."
The representative also said Kushner and Ivanka Trump, "have been friends with Rupert and Wendi Murdoch for a decade before coming to Washington and their relationship is neither political nor about China."
Wendi Deng Murdoch, 49, is a U.S. citizen. She married Rupert Murdoch in 1999 but the two divorced in 2013. She still uses her married name.
Rupert Murdoch, 86, controls News Corp., which owns the Wall Street Journal, and 21st Century Fox, which owns the Fox News Channel.
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