Federal prosecutors investigate $1 million donation to Trump's inaugural committee

President Trump.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Federal prosecutors in New York are conducting an investigation into the finances of President Trump's inaugural committee, and one particular donation has caught their eye.

The investigation, which is focused on determining whether donors received any benefits after making large contributions, has honed in on a $1 million donation from prolific political donor Franklin Haney. Haney made the donation while he was asking for approval and funding from the government for his attempt to acquire the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant in Alabama, The Associated Press reports.

While the donation may have been intended to help Haney's cause, his bid for the power plant has not yet been successful. But this is far from the first time Haney has been investigated for contributions suspected to have ulterior motives. Back in the '90s, he was accused of making loaded donations to the Clinton administration, though he was never indicted for the charges.

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Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, shared information regarding Haney and his son with the federal prosecutors, per an anonymous source "familiar with what Cohen told the authorities," AP explained.

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Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.