Board of Peace
ESTB 2 26
MERRI OK
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4 10 26 YT SECULAR?
1.5b FROM usaid FEMA ETC?!
1B FROM DICTATOR BUY IN?
VENEZ OIL $ TO PVT OFFSHORE ACCT?
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9 26
Gaza aid boss tears into Trump's Board of Peace at the UN
Aug 28, 2026
Watch Athena Rayburn, Chief Executive of the Association of International Development Agencies, deliver a devastating assessment of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and its handling of Gaza before the UN. AIDA represent more than 100 international development and humanitarian NGOs trying to deliver aid to Gaza as Israel's occupation continues. She details restrictions on humanitarian aid, blocked medical supplies, and the continued killing of Palestinians under the so-called ceasefire. Rayburn challenges claims that Gaza is improving, arguing that a reduced risk of starvation means little while Palestinians remain at risk of shelling. “The Board of Peace is failing,” she tells the Council, calling on its members to take responsibility for what is happening under their watch. Like PoliticsJOE? We need your support: 
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Gaza aid boss tears into Trump's Board of Peace at the UN
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AN 5 26
Trump’s Board of Peace is flat broke after multiple countries stiffed him: report - Alternet.org
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AN 5 26
In late April, President Donald Trump announced that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff (the Trump Administration's special envoy to the Middle East) would be resuming peace talks with Iran — only to tell the media, the next day, that the trip was off. Kushner and Witkoff are longtime business associates of Trump as well as political allies; both of them have backgrounds in high-end real estate, like the Trump Administration.
Reporter Linda Kinstler examines the "murky legal status" of Trump's Board of Peace and the Trump Administration/Kushner/Witkoff arrangement in an article published by the New York Times Magazine on May 1.
"Over the past year," Kinstler explains, "Kushner and Witkoff have crisscrossed the globe as White House emissaries: They have met with Hamas and with Vladimir Putin, with (Ukrainian President) Volodymyr Zelensky and with Iranian negotiators. Their near-universal presence at high-stakes negotiations suggests that Kushner and Witkoff, New York real estate developers who are now executive members of Trump's Board of Peace, have been almost single-handedly tasked with realizing Trump's desire to be remembered as the 'president of peace.'"
Kinstler adds, "But these are businessmen first and diplomats second…. Their view seems to be that peace is an asset to be leveraged and maximized."
Lawmakers, according to Kinstler, "are noticing the murky legal status" of Board of Peace activities.
"Several Democratic congressional investigations are looking into both Witkoff's and Kushner's financial records and international relationships," Kinstler notes. "In mid-April, four Democratic senators announced a probe of the Board of Peace's proposal to create a stablecoin for Gaza, pointing out that a number of its executives, including Witkoff and Trump himself, could stand to profit. In a letter addressed to Kushner announcing a House Judiciary Committee probe of his dual role as an investor and a 'volunteer' government representative, Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote, 'You cannot faithfully represent the United States with billions of dollars in Saudi and Emirati cash burning a hole in every pocket of every suit you own.'"
Kinstler adds, "By continuing to do so, Kushner was effectively insisting 'that the normal rules do not apply to you,' Raskin argued."
The reporter stresses that it remains to be seen what the Board of Peace will be able to accomplish in the Middle East.
"Rising energy prices have begun to strain American households," Kinstler observes, "but Trump and his 'people' aren't feeling the squeeze. Witkoff has said he is in the process of divesting from his real estate and crypto holdings; in 2024, Kushner said he would 'try to pre-emptively avoid any conflicts of interests.' But both men have seen their wealth grow significantly since Trump returned to office. And the peace they have long promised remains out of reach."
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AN 3 26
First Lady Melania Trump is leading the United Nations Security Council next week, and it's prompting some to wonder what the angle is for the Trumps to benefit.
Writing for The Guardian on Saturday, columnist Arwa Mahdawi explained, "It is my working hypothesis that there are only two reasons a Trump ever does anything: money or malice."
So, she speculated, what is behind the new decision to take Mrs. Trump away from her meme coin, coffee table books, and filmmaking?
"I’m not sure holding the gavel at Monday’s security council session is particularly lucrative, so file this one under 'malice,'" wrote Mahdawi. "Foisting Melania on the Security Council as the U.S. assumes the body’s rotating monthly presidency sends a clear message to the world about just how seriously the Trump administration takes the UN. It feels like an attempt to undermine the credibility of the UN and multilateralism more broadly."
She recalled Trump's overall hatred that manifested during the COVID-19 crisis toward the World Health Organization in 2020, along with his ongoing abandonment of 66 other international organizations.
Daniel Forti, head of UN affairs at the International Crisis Group, told NPR that the "symbolism is unequivocal."
"It’s that the US really wants to dictate its own terms to the rest of the multilateral system and wants to work with the UN in a way where it really sets the agenda," he said.
Several months ago, Trump announced he was forming his own group of the united nations called the "Board of Peace," where he, and only he, will be the leader, and joining will cost $1 billion. The president announced last week that he was handing over $10 billion in taxpayer dollars to run the organization, though those funds have not yet been approved by Congress. The current goal is to rebuild Gaza, he said, but during a speech before the meeting last week, Trump claimed they are "going to go far beyond Gaza."
Mahdawi sees it as nothing more than "a vehicle for rampant profiteering."
Behind the scenes, Mahdawi said that a number of diplomats are fearful that it will become a shadow version of the United Nations, that favors the Americans.
"All of which must be very exciting for our first lady, who is clearly keen to try her hand at international diplomacy," Mahdawi closed. "Perhaps, after her valuable work experience stint at the United Nations on Monday, Melania will also find herself a nice little role on the Board of Peace. And maybe Ivanka Trump, who the president once thought about installing as the head of the World Bank, will also return to public life. Whatever happens, I think we can all agree that we’re terribly lucky to have such a talented ruling family. FIFA, I hope you’re paying attention; time to give Melania her own peace prize, don’t you think?"
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AN 2 26
Trump pledges US contribution of $10 billion to his 'Board of Peace'
JD Vance 'doesn’t get a single laugh' with anti-AOC joke at Board of Peace meeting
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AN 2 26
LAYERS IRONY
President Donald Trump met on Thursday with his so-called "Board of Peace," an unofficial gathering of countries willing to pay to have control over post-war Gaza. The meeting comes as Trump sends an increase in military presence around the Middle East.
Politico's morning newsletter was updated after Trump's speech, welcoming the paid members to his first peace meeting, where, according to "Playbook," the "real backdrop is the growing drumbeat of war."
"There are layers of irony here. First — where better to host a peace summit than the 'Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute for Peace,' a building forcibly seized by the administration and renamed in the president’s honor following a bitter power struggle last year? (A federal judge deemed the takeover illegal, though that ruling was stayed pending appeal)," Politico reported.
Sources told Axios that Trump is plotting a "massive, weeks-long" military operation that "would look more like full-fledged war than last month's pinpoint operation in Venezuela."
“The number of fighter planes, aerial refuelers and surveillance planes that have arrived over the past three to four days is immense,” said Politico's Paul McLeary. “Dozens of F-35s, F-16s and F-15Es have moved from the U.S. to the Middle East and the U.K. Several F-22s used in Venezuela last month have also been moved to the U.K., putting them in range for strikes inside Iran. We also sent RC-135 Rivet Joint intelligence aircraft, E-3 Sentry Airborne Early Warning and Control systems and E-11 Battlefield Airborne Communications Node aircraft. It’s staggering.”
The newsletter cited the WSJ report, calling it the largest air-power buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
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AN 2 26
JPMorgan Chase took issue with Donald Trump's attempt to name its CEO, Jamie Dimon, in a major lawsuit against the bank, alleging in a new court filing that his inclusion was done "fraudulently."
In January, Trump filed suit against the banking giant, accusing it of putting himself and his businesses on a "blacklist" following his first term, effectively "debanking" him. The suit further alleges that this decision was directed by Dimon and is seeking $5 billion in damages.
It was that detail that the company went after in a court filing submitted on Thursday, per a report from Bloomberg. In it, JPMorgan Chase claimed that Trump's inclusion of Dimon as a defendant in the lawsuit was done "fraudulently," in order to get the case filed in Florida state court, where Trump has tended to land sympathetic judges, and avoid going to federal court.
The company explained that Dimon cannot be included in the suit under the Florida unfair trade practices law cited by the president, because he is "closely and comprehensively regulated by the federal banking agencies. The filing seeks to have the case moved to a federal court in Miami, with plans to move it again to a state court in New York somewhere down the line.
The bank's ultimate goal is to have the "threadbare" lawsuit dismissed. Lawyers for the bank accused the suit of being "unclear" on key points of its argument, particularly about the "blacklist" at the core of its argument.
“They do not explain what this ‘blacklist’ entails, when it was created, to whom it was supposedly circulated, or any other detail describing it,” the bank's lawyers said. “Nor is it plausible that JPMorgan could create such a list consistent with the complex federal regulatory scheme to which it is subject.”
In a statement to Bloomberg, Trump's legal team stood by the claims in the lawsuit, though it did not provide evidence to counter JPMorgan's assertions. The team also claimed, as they have often done, that Trump is suing the company in the name of the little guy, as he "is standing up for all those wrongly debanked by JPMorgan Chase and their cohorts."
"By their own admission, JPMorgan Chase, at the direction of CEO Jamie Dimon, unlawfully debanked and blacklisted President Trump, his family, and several of his businesses, causing overwhelming financial and reputational harm," the statement read.
The same day that this filing was submitted, the Financial Times reported that JPMorgan Chase has been in talks to provide banking services for Trump's "Board of Peace" initiative. It is unclear how this deal might impact the lawsuit, and vice versa. Though not known as an outspoken Trump opponent, Dimon recently called out Trump's demand to have all credit card interest capped at 10 percent, calling the idea an "economic disaster."
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2 26
As details about President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and its plans for the reconstruction of Gaza trickle out, two things become increasingly clear: Palestinians have barely, if at all, been consulted in these plans; and the people in Trump’s orbit stand to benefit from the project the most.
The U.N. Security Council approved the Board of Peace as a mechanism for implementing Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Israel and Gaza back in November, though its mandate now appears much broader. The BoP itself consists of high-level representatives from Gulf nations, Israel, Serbia, Albania, and Argentina, among others, with Trump himself as the chair and ultimate decision-maker. Absent from the Board of Peace are representatives from almost every EU country except Bulgaria and Hungary, and anyone representing Palestine.
The BoP’s executive board—tasked with putting the BoP’s vision into practice—is composed of billionaire businessmen like Marc Rowan, CEO of private equity firm Apollo Global Management; Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; and Steve Witkoff, the real estate mogul turned Trump donor turned special envoy to the Middle East. There’s Ajay Banga, the World Bank president who prioritizes private-sector investment in global development, as well as U.S. Secretary of State and national security adviser Marco Rubio, deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel, and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The special Gaza Executive Board adds Israeli-Cypriot real estate mogul Yakir Gabay, who enjoys a close friendship with Kushner, as well as representatives from the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey. Sigrid Kaag, the Dutch U.N. coordinator for humanitarian aid into Gaza and the lone humanitarian-sector representative, and former U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov lend the group a dash of gravitas—but just a dash.
The Palestinian role is reduced to a 15-member technocratic and “apolitical” governance body, led by engineer and former Palestinian Authority official Ali Shaath.
Details about how exactly Trump’s group plans to carry out Gaza’s reconstruction are limited thus far, but the number of real estate and finance bigwigs on the executive board indicates that it will likely be a highly privatized endeavor.
“When you look at the executive committee, I think it is absolutely unprecedented in multilateral organizations, which I guess the Board of Peace is supposed to be, even if it’s not really [multilateral] because of Trump’s dominance over it,” said Hugh Lovatt, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “I think it is nonetheless pretty much unprecedented to have such explicit power exerted by private individuals who are there by virtue of their business interests.” The Prospect reached out to two members of the Gaza Executive Board with questions about how board members would keep their business interests separate from their political role, but did not receive a response by press time.
Multilateral institutions like the U.N. are supposed to operate under cooperative and humanitarian principles; representatives to such bodies are supposed to represent the interests of their nations or regions, not their private businesses.
“President Trump does not seem to do anything unless it benefits the U.S., but more specifically, unless it seems to benefit himself,” Lovatt said. “And this is not something that is exclusive to Gaza or the Board of Peace, and I think is very much interwoven into his presidency.”
Among those private individuals, Kushner’s business activities have raised significant concern. He is now the owner and principal of Affinity Partners, an investment firm that doesn’t seem to be doing that much investing, according to findings from an investigation by the Senate Finance Committee. But Kushner still profits, with Affinity pocketing a 2 percent annual management fee from almost all his investors. “He’s able to get such enormous fees, as an investor with a pretty crummy record who’s just raking in money from sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf, regardless of how well he is shepherding those investments,” said Ryan Carey, chief communications adviser and deputy policy director at the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.
The fund’s assets under management come almost exclusively from “the very Arab petrostates critical to the agreement and potential reconstruction—Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates,” journalist Mohamad Bazzi wrote in*The Guardian*. These nations have already begun investing in Syria and could be involved in rebuilding efforts in Lebanon, in a bid to exercise more influence in the region.
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