For those interested in the first stages of alleged corruption in the Trump administration, take a look at this Wall Street Journal piece.
The article goes into how federal prosecutors have “stepped up” their investigation into the activities of GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy at Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
The inaugural is already under scrutiny, in part for its record-setting $107 million cash intake, but also for the appearance of well-heeled foreign officials with tickets to the event. Non-U.S. citizens are prohibited from contributing to inaugural committees, raising questions of whether any monies flowed to the inaugural that shouldn’t have.
The WSJ reports that investigators are allegedly looking into whether Broidy “was paid by his intelligence-contracting firm’s foreign and prospective clients to give them special access to attend the 2017 inauguration.”
The story cites an April document request from Brooklyn federal prosecutors to the Trump inaugural committee, asking for information regarding Broidy and the prospective clients of his intelligence research firm, Circinus.
Manhattan federal prosecutors subpoenaed the committee in February, asking for a broad range of information.
Public corruption prosecutors based in Washington have also reportedly questioned Lisa Korbatov, a Broidy associate who allegedly helped broker a deal that brought Angolan government officials to the Trump inaugural.
The story cites a Broidy representative as saying that both the inaugural committee and State Department approved foreign guests that he brought to the inaugural bash.
Read the report here.
