Jared Kushner Hacked Phone Reveals Secret Negotiations, Millions in Transactions

Scale and Nature of Corruption

• Many commenters see the Kushner story as one piece of a much larger pattern: not just “corruption” but systemic kleptocracy / kakistocracy and active “disassembly of the state.”
• Comparisons are made to the post-Soviet collapse and oligarchic asset-stripping, with a view that USD-denominated assets are being converted into raw political power and control over real resources.
• Some argue there will be no full unraveling or accountability under current institutions.

Pardons, Prosecution, and Constitutional Limits

• Extensive debate on presidential pardon power: some call it a historic mistake and want it effectively abolished or constrained.
• Clarifications: pardons cover federal crimes only, not state-level offenses or civil liability; foreign prosecutions and extradition are mentioned as theoretical risks.
• Suggestions include requiring congressional or bipartisan approval for pardons, or limiting pre-emptive pardons—others counter that this would require a constitutional amendment and is politically impossible.
• Some stress that even failed prosecutions can expose corruption and delegitimize a “rotten” system; others are pessimistic that courts (especially the Supreme Court) would check abuses.

Kushner’s Role and Legitimacy

• A recurring concern is that a presidential relative with no electoral mandate was effectively conducting foreign policy.
• There is confusion and disagreement over whether he was acting as an official envoy versus as a private citizen, noting the article focuses on pre-2020 but current disputes about his status exist.

Hacking, Intelligence, and Evidence

• The thread notes that Russian military intelligence allegedly hacked Kushner’s iPhone, and Dutch intelligence later gained access via a recruited GRU spy.
• Some find the idea of allied services accessing a senior U.S. official’s device disturbingly casual; others point out the U.S. has similarly spied on allies.
• Several commenters remain skeptical: they worry hacked or seized devices can have incriminating material planted, and some suspect a “limited hangout.”
• Others defend the underlying reporting as coming from an experienced national-security investigative journalist.

Media Treatment vs. Hunter Biden

• Multiple comments contrast the relatively muted treatment of the Kushner story with the saturation coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop.
• Explanations offered include: the laptop’s salacious personal content; direct media access to its data versus foreign-intel-controlled phone data; partisan narratives about media bias; and disagreement over whether the Biden story was buried or heavily publicized.

Broader Political and Structural Concerns

• Many see both current and prior U.S. administrations as “owned” or heavily influenced by foreign and private interests.
• Some advocate radical decentralization of power, with proposed legal caps on wealth and “overaccumulation of power” as a crime.
• Others argue cynicism is understandable but warn against sliding into nihilism, noting other democracies have lived with normalized corruption for decades.

HN Meta and Political Content

• There is visible frustration about this thread being flagged or buried, interpreted by some as deliberate suppression of political discussion.
• Others attribute it to users who dislike political topics on a tech forum, noting the difference between the front page and the “/active” view.