President Donald Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee is currently being investigated by federal prosecutors in New York for possible financial abuses related to the more than $100 million in donations raised for his inauguration, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal Thursday afternoon.
Citing conversations with people familiar with the investigation, which is being handled by the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan, the Journal reported that prosecutors are also looking into whether the committee accepted donations from individuals looking to gain influence in or access to the new administration.
The newspaper notes that “giving money in exchange for political favors” is illegal, as is misuse of any donated funds. The committee was registered as a nonprofit.
In a statement, Trump’s inaugural committee said the celebration was “in full compliance with all applicable laws.”
“The (committee) is not aware of any pending investigations and has not been contacted by any prosecutors. We simply have no evidence the investigation exists,” the statement read.
“The (committee’s) finances were fully audited internally and independently and are fully accounted. Moreover, the inauguration’s accounting was provided both to the Federal Election Commission and the IRS in compliance with all laws and regulations. These were funds raised from private individuals and were then spent in accordance with the law and the expectations of the donors. The names of donors were provided to the FEC and have been public for nearly two years and those donors were vetted in accordance with the law and no improprieties have been found regarding the vetting of those donors.”
According to the Journal, sources told the paper that the investigation “partly arises out of materials seized in the federal probe of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s business dealings.”
During a raid of Cohen’s properties last spring, a recorded conversation between him and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former adviser to first lady Melania Trump, was seized, according to the newspaper. Wolkoff expressed concern in the conversation about how the inaugural committee was spending money, a person familiar with the Cohen investigation told the Journal.
The probe was launched by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, the paper said, citing people familiar with the investigation.
The investigation, which is reportedly in its early stages, is looking into whether some of the committee’s top donors gave money to gain access to the incoming Trump administration to influence policy positions, which could be a violation of anti-corruption laws.
The Journal reported that the investigation began in part after federal agents seized materials from Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in federal prison for unrelated crimes.
On the recording, Wolkoff reportedly raised concerns about how the committee was spending money.
The paper reported that it could not determine when the conversation took place or why it was recorded, but said it in the possession of federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
In public tax filings, the committee identified vendors accounting for $61 million of the $103 million it spent, according to the Journal. The committee is required to publicly disclose its top five vendors as a nonprofit organization.
Federal Election Commission records show that donors included casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, AT&T and Boeing, all of whom gave $1 million or more. But the Journal reported that there is no sign that those donors are under investigation.