Donald Trump’s inaugural committee has been ordered to hand over a tranche of documents about its financial activities to federal prosecutors, as part of an investigation into potential criminality.
The committee raised a record-breaking $107 million (£82 million) for the president’s 2017 inauguration, but the provenance of that money is now under intense scrutiny.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The wide-ranging subpoena covers documents related to the bank accounts of committee members, as well as information on donors, vendors and contractors.
ABC News reports that prosecutors are also looking into any foreign guests who attended the event, including “Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who is now on the Treasury Department list of sanctioned oligarchs”.
Among those named in the subpoena is Los Angeles-based venture capitalist Imaad Zuberi, whose company donated $900,000 (£690,000) to the committee.
The investigation reportedly grew out of the investigation into Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and lawyer who is due to begin a prison sentence next month after pleading guilty to a range of crimes, including one charge relating to campaign finance in which Cohen directly implicated Trump.
In a statement, a committee spokesman confirmed that they had received a subpoena and “it is our intention to cooperate with the inquiry”.
The New York Times reports that the United States attorney’s office in Brooklyn is separately investigating allegations that campaign officials “helped foreigners illegally funnel donations to Trump’s inaugural committee using so-called straw donors to disguise their donations”.
-
Why Saudi Arabia is muscling in on the world of animeUnder the Radar The anime industry is the latest focus of the kingdom’s ‘soft power’ portfolio
-
Scoundrels, spies and squires in January TVthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘The Pitt,’ ‘Industry,’ ‘Ponies’ and ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
-
Venezuela: The ‘Donroe doctrine’ takes shapeFeature President Trump wants to impose “American dominance”
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
