In late April 2017, Charles Kushner met with Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al Emadi at the St. Regis New York. Reports of the meeting first surfaced on investigative reporting website "The Intercept" in March 2018, which reported that Charles Kushner arranged the meeting in an attempt to secure funding for the new tower from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund but that Emadi declined to provide any financing. The outlet also highlighted the controversial timing of the meeting, which came roughly one month before the Qatar diplomatic crisis began. Jared Kushner reportedly sided with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman in the conflict and undermined United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's efforts to resolve the crisis. Kushner Companies responded by stating, "We did not meet with anyone from the Qatari Government to solicit sovereign funds for any of our projects." Charles Kushner later claimed that Qatar arranged the meeting, saying, "Before the meeting, Kushner Companies had decided that it was not going to accept sovereign wealth fund investments. We informed the Qatar representatives of our decision and they agreed. Even if they were there ready to wire the money, we would not have taken it."