Donald Trump’s once said this about his inauguration, “We had the biggest audience in the history of inaugural speeches.” While that may not be true (or not) one record was set that day, the amount of money raised by President Trump’s inaugural committee, $107 million. Now though an investigation is underway to see if some of that money was misspent. The Wall Street Journal reports:
The criminal probe by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which is in its early stages, also is examining whether some of the committee’s top donors gave money in exchange for access to the incoming Trump administration, policy concessions or to influence official administration positions, some of the people said.
Giving money in exchange for political favors could run afoul of federal corruption laws. Diverting funds from the organization, which was registered as a nonprofit, could also violate federal law.
The exclusive report goes on to say:
The investigation partly arises out of materials seized in the federal probe of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s business dealings, according to people familiar with the matter.
In April raids of Mr. Cohen’s home, office and hotel room, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents obtained a recorded conversation between Mr. Cohen and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former adviser to Melania Trump, who worked on the inaugural events. In the recording, Ms. Wolkoff expressed concern about how the inaugural committee was spending money, according to a person familiar with the Cohen investigation.
Even before this, multiple outlets reported earlier this year that special counsel Robert Mueller was investigating potential Russia-tied donations to the inaugural committee. But this news is the first confirmation of a broader probe into the inauguration and its money.
Federal prosecutors have also asked Rick Gates, the inaugural fund's deputy chairman who is cooperating with investigators, about the fund's spending and its donors. Gates has met with Mueller and with SDNY. https://t.co/wVercQWNVg
— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) December 13, 2018
Axios points out why this matters:
The probe, being conducted by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, presents another threat for Trump and members of his 2016 campaign. If funds were improperly spent or if money was given in exchange for a political favor, the committee could be in violation of federal laws.
