Trump’s Inaugural Committee Subpoenaed, Illegal Foreign Donations Probed
Donald Trump arrives to speak during a campaign rally, Monday, Nov. 7, 2016, in Manchester, N.H. From left, Eric Trump, Vanessa Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Mike Pence, Karen Pence, Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and Tiffany Trump. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Rantt Rundown, Day 746 of Trump’s presidency – Today’s top stories:
1. All the president’s legal woes: When taking stock of the criminal probes plaguing President Trump, several come to mind. There are the domestic crimes Michael Cohen has implicated the president in or the investigations into the Trump campaign, the Trump administration, the Trump transition, the Trump Organization, and the Trump Foundation. But one important thread sometimes falls from view. We know Special Counsel Robert Mueller has taken great interest in whether Russian oligarchs or other foreign entities illegally funneled money into Trump’s inaugural committee. Now, we know that the probe has been taken to the next level by federal prosecutors in New York.
According to several news organizations, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed the Trump inaugural committee. The New York Times reports, “A lawyer working with the inaugural committee received a subpoena on Monday evening seeking documents related to all of the committee’s donors and event attendees; any benefits handed out, including tickets and photo opportunities with the president; federal disclosure filings; vendors; contracts; and more, one of the people said.” Keep in mind that Trump’s close friend Thomas Barrack chaired the committee. Remember that name.
2. Update on migrant family separation: After it was revealed that the Trump administration separated significantly more migrant children than they originally claimed, they submitted a court filing that made matters even worse. The central claim in the filing, as reported by the Associated Press, is hypocritical, to say the least: “The Trump administration says it would require extraordinary effort to reunite what may be thousands of migrant children who have been separated from their parents and, even if it could, the children would likely be emotionally harmed.” After ripping these children from their parents’ arms, suddenly, they care about the well being of the children? Also, the inadequate tracking of these migrant children further confirms there was no real plan for reunification.
3. The meeting that never stops developing: BuzzFeed News, who before that Cohen report has had a stellar reputation on the Trump-Russia beat, reported that Russian-born lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin received half a million dollars in the months preceding the Trump Tower meeting.
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