Federal prosecutors in New York issued a subpoena Monday, ordering officials who were part of President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee to turn over documents related to the $107 million the group raised amid a probe of whether it misspent the funds, according to multiple reports.
Kristin Celauro, a spokeswoman for the inaugural committee, confirmed Monday to The Associated Press that the committee was reviewing the subpoena.
"It is our intention to cooperate with the inquiry," she told the AP.
Investigators with the public corruption unit of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office opened a criminal probe into the committee's spending late last year, The Wall Street Journal reported.
>> WSJ: Federal prosecutors open criminal probe into Trump inaugural fund spending
In the subpoena issued Monday, investigators sought "all of the committee's donors and guests; any benefits handed out, including tickets and photo opportunities with the president; federal disclosure filings; vendors; contracts; and more," The New York Times reported, citing an unidentified source.
The newspaper reported that authorities were investigating a slew of possible crimes, including the possibility that the committee made false statements to the Federal Election Commission and whether foreigners illegally donated to the committee.
The Journal reported authorities launched an investigation into the inaugural committee's spending after federal agents raided former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's home and office in April, seizing his computer, his phone and hundreds of thousands of records.
Cohen, 52, is expected to begin a three-year prison sentence in the coming weeks after he pleaded guilty to several charges last year, including lying to Congress about a Trump Tower deal in Moscow and arranging illicit payments to silence two women who posed a risk to Trump's presidential campaign.
In the time since his guilty pleas, Cohen has spent more than 70 hours speaking with investigators for the Southern District of New York, who prosecuted the tax evasion case, and Mueller's team, which is investigating Russian election meddling and its possible ties to Trump, according to the Times.
The investigation is one of several probes into Trump’s campaign.
In May 2017, the Justice Department tasked special counsel Robert Mueller with investigating allegations of Russian election meddling and its possible ties to Trump and his campaign officials. In a separate case headed by federal prosecutors in New York, investigators are probing allegations that Trump directed Cohen to violate campaign finance laws with his payments to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal and adult film star Stormy Daniels.
About the Author
