Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy's office was reportedly raided amid money laundering investigation
Federal authorities raided Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy's Los Angeles office in 2018, ProPublica reported on Monday.
The Justice Department has been investigating whether Broidy, former national deputy finance chair for the Republican National Committee, tried to profit off of his influence within the Trump administration with foreign entities, as The Washington Post previously reported. For example, The Wall Street Journal has reported that he was in negotiations to earn $75 million if the Justice Department stopped an investigation into a Malaysian business.
Citing a sealed search warrant, ProPublica writes that authorities in raiding Broidy's office were "seeking records related to his dealings with foreign officials and Trump administration associates" and were investigating potential "conspiracy, money laundering and violations of the law barring covert lobbying on behalf of foreign officials." They were reportedly seeking evidence related to a variety of people and entities, including former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates, and they received authorization to use Broidy's face or fingerprints to unlock phones.
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.
Brody stepped down from the Republican National Committee in 2018 after reports he had made a hush-money payment to a Playboy Playmate he had an affair with, per The Wall Street Journal. This payment was set up by President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen.
Broidy, who resigned from the Republican National Committee after a report that he made a hush-money payment to a Playboy model he had an affair with and impregnated, through his lawyer has said he has "never agreed to work for, been retained by nor been compensated by any foreign government for any interaction with the United States Government, ever."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Why is the Pentagon taking over the military’s independent newspaper?Today’s Big Question Stars and Stripes is published by the Defense Department but is editorially independent
-
How Mars influences Earth’s climateThe explainer A pull in the right direction
-
‘The science is clear’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump’s Greenland ambitions push NATO to the edgeTalking Points The military alliance is facing its worst-ever crisis
-
Venezuela: Does Trump have a plan?Feature Oil and democracy are both on the table
-
Trump ties Greenland threat to failed Nobel Peace bidSpeed Read ‘I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,’ Trump said
-
The Board of Peace: Donald Trump’s ‘alternative to the UN’The Explainer Body set up to oversee reconstruction of Gaza could have broader mandate to mediate other conflicts and create a ‘US-dominated alternative to the UN’
-
Can Starmer continue to walk the Trump tightrope?Today's Big Question PM condemns US tariff threat but is less confrontational than some European allies
-
A new serif in town: Trump’s font culture warIn the Spotlight As the State Department shifts from Calibri to Times New Roman, is this just a ‘typographic dispute’, or the ‘latest battleground’ of a culture war
-
Trump threatens Minnesota with Insurrection ActSpeed Read The law was passed in 1807 but has rarely been used
-
Why is Trump threatening defense firms?Talking Points CEO pay and stock buybacks will be restricted
