The White House said Tuesday that a new corruption investigation into President Donald Trump's inauguration has nothing to do with Trump himself. Federal prosecutors in New York issued a subpoena Monday for financial and other records to the Trump Inaugural Committee, seeking information on the $107 million it raised for festivities to celebrate the billionaire developer's election victory as he took office on January 20, 2017.
A spokesperson for the committee confirmed that they were reviewing the subpoena, adding that "it is our intention to cooperate with the inquiry." The investigation piles fresh legal pressure on a White House already threatened by multiple lines of inquiry from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign in the 2016 presidential election.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that the inaugural committee's operations did not involve Trump himself. "This has nothing to do with the White House." "I think the common thread is a hysteria over the fact that this president became president," she told CNN.
"The fact that those things have taken place literally have absolutely nothing to do with the president." "There is so much hatred out there that they will look for anything to try to create and tie problems to this president." The subpoena seeks documents relating to donors, vendors, contractors and bank accounts linked to the inaugural committee, suggesting possible suspicions of fraud and money laundering according to the Washington Post, which reviewed the subpoena.
It focuses in part on one donor, venture capitalist Imaad Zuberi, and his Los Angeles company Avenue Ventures, which donated $900,000 to the inauguration, according to the Post. Presidential inaugurations open the door for businesses and lobbyists seeking to gain access to the White House to show their support for the new leader by funding gala balls, concerts and other activities during the week of the inauguration.
The Trump Inaugural Committee raised a record $107 million, and questions have been floating for two years over whether that involved illegal donations from foreigners, sweetheart deals for contractors and possible kickbacks. The committee board comprised several billionaire supporters of Trump.
The deputy chairman, who managed the operation, was Rick Gates, who has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and false statements in the Mueller investigation in a cooperation deal. According to reports last year, Mueller has taken an interest in the attendance at the inauguration and exclusive inaugural events of individuals with ties to the Russian government.
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