THIS IS THE INAUGURATION FOR YOU.
YOU. DONALD TRUMP’S INAUGURALTION OF
2017.
2017. IF YOU GOT CLAUSTROPHOBIC LIKE I
DO IN BIG CROWDS, THIS WAS ALSO
THE INAUGURATION FOR YOU
APPARENTLY OR IF YOU DON’T LIKE
PARTICULARLY WELL-KNOWN BANDS OR
A BIG FAN OF D.J. RAVI DRUMS,
THAT WOULD BE THE INAUGURATION
FOR YOU.
FOR YOU. DONALD TRUMP’S INAUGURATION
DEFIED ALL RULES OF NATURE.
IT WAS TWICE AS EXPENSIVE AS
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S INAUGURATION
AND HALF AS DAZZLING.
THE TRUMP INAUGURAL FUND RAISED
A RECORD-BREAKING $107 MILLION,
MOST OF THAT WAS SPENT BUT WHERE
THE MONEY WENT AND TO WHOM
REMAINS AN OPEN QUESTION.
DESPITE PROMISES THERE WOULD BE
A FULL AND CLEAN EXTERNAL AUDIT
OF THE INAUGURAL COMMITTEE
FINANCES, IT’S NOT CLEAR THAT
EVER HAPPENED.
EVER HAPPENED. BACK IN DECEMBER WE LEARNED
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS WERE
INVESTIGATING WHETHER THE COMMIT
COMMITTEE MISSPENT SOME OF THE
$107 MILLION IT RAISED FROM
DONATIONS.
DONATIONS. AT THAT POINT, THE CRIMINAL
PROBE BY THE MANHATTAN U.S.
ATTORNEY’S OFFICE WAS IN QUOTE
EARLY STAGES REPORTEDLY THEY
WERE LOOKING AT WHETHER
FOREIGNERS ILLEGALLY FUNNELED
DONATIONS TO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S
INAUGURAL L COMECOMMITTEE AND
SPECIFICALLY, WHETHER PEOPLE
FROM SPECIFIC U.S. NATIONS USED
DRAW DONORS TO DISGUISE
DONATIONS TO THE FUNDS.
THE FEDERAL PROSECUTORS IN THIS
STORY ARE BASE IN MANHATTAN,
THESE ARE SEPARATE AND APART FOR
THOSE WHO WORK FOR SPECIAL
COUNSEL ROBERT MUELLER AND
RUSSIA INVESTIGATION.
RUSSIA INVESTIGATION. THIS IS A DIFFERENT
INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION. BACK IN DECEMBER THE REPORTING
CALLED THIS CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATION IN THE EARLY
STAGES.
STAGES. TONIGHT WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS
BECAUSE THAT INVESTIGATION
APPEARS TO BE IN FULL BLOOM.
MULTIPLE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS
REPORTING TONIGHT THAT FEDERAL
PROSECUTORS IN NEW YORK REACHED
OUT TODAY TO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S
INAUGURAL COMMITTEE.
INAUGURAL COMMITTEE. THE COMMITTEE WAS SERVED WITH
SUBPOENAS THAT AND ORDERED TO
TURNOVER DOCUMENTS ABOUT ITS
DONORS, FINANCES AND ACTIVITIES
AS WELL AS QUOTE ANY BENEFITS
HANDED OUT INCLUDING TICKETS AND
PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE
PRESIDENT, FEDERAL DISCLOSURE
FILINGS, VENDOR CONTRACTS AND
MORE.
MORE. THIS IS COMING OUT OF THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK’S
PUBLIC CORRUPTION SECTION.
TOTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE
RUSSIA INVESTIGATION.
RUSSIA INVESTIGATION. IT’S WORTH REMEMBERING THAT
DONALD TRUMP’S LONG-TIME
PERSONAL ATTORNEY MICHAEL COHEN
AND THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION’S
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ALLEN
WEISSELBERG HAVE BOTH BEEN
COOPERATING WITH THE SAME
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS IN ADDITION
TO RICK GATES, A TRUMP CAMPAIGN
DEPUTY WHO ALSO WORKED ON THE
INAUGURATION.
INAUGURATION. SO IT’S NOT CLEAR WHERE THIS IS
COMING FROM BUT THEY GOT A LOT
OF PEOPLE THAT MIGHT BE TELLING
THEM SOMETHING ABOUT THE
INAUGURALTION
INAUGURALTION INAUGURATION, AMONG THE
DOCUMENTS PROSECUTORS WANT IS
ANYTHING REGARDING DONATIONS TO
THE COMMITTEE MADE BY OR ON
BEHALF OF FOREIGN NATIONALS.
JOINING ME NOW IS REBECCA, ONE
OF THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL"
REPORTERS WHO HAS BEEN ON THIS
STORY.
STORY. REBECCA, THANK YOU FOR JOINING
US ON SUCH SHORT NOTICE AND
THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORTING ON
THIS.
THIS. >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> FIRST OF ALL, THE SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF NEW YORK IS LOOKING
FOR THESE DOCUMENTS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY INDICATION
WHETHER THE COMMITTEE IS WILLING
TO HAND THEM OVER?
>> IT SEEMS THAT THEY ARE.
THE COMMITTEE PUT OUT A
STATEMENT EARLIER TONIGHT SAYING
THEY JUST RECEIVED THE SUBPOENA
AND REVIEWING IT BUT IT WAS
THEIR INTENTION TO COOPERATE.
>> THE SUBPOENA COMING FROM THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
MAKES PEOPLE WONDER WHETHER IT’S
RELATED TO OR OVER LAP WITH
ROBERT MUELLER’S OFFICE AND
INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION. DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?
>> WELL, WE KNOW THAT MUELLER
HAS ONE POINT IN LOOKING INTO
DONATIONS FOR THE INAUGURAL FUND
FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS.
IT’S NOT CLEAR TO US WHETHER
THAT’S ON GOING OR REFERRED TO
THE MANHATTAN U.S. ATTORNEY’S
OFFICE.
OFFICE. WE KNOW THAT THIS INVESTIGATION
INTO THE INAUGURAL FUND GREW OUT
OF THE PREVIOUS INVESTIGATION
INTO MICHAEL COHEN AND HIS
BUSINESS DEALINGS AMONG THE
RECORDS THAT WERE SEIZED IN THE
APRIL RAID OF HIS PROPERTIES WAS
A TAPE OF HIM HAVING A
CONVERSATION WITH AN ADVISOR TO
THE INAUGURAL ABOUT HER CONCERNS
THAT SOME OF THE MONEY WAS BEING
MISSPENT.
MISSPENT. WE KNOW THOSE ARE THE ORIGINS OF
THE INVESTIGATION.
THE INVESTIGATION. >> LET ME ASK YOU THIS, WHAT ARE
THEY LOOKING AT?
THERE ARE A FEW QUESTIONS, THE
FACT IT WAS REALLY EXPENSIVE BUT
DIDN’T SEEM TO LOOK LIKE
SOMETHING THAT WAS AS EXPENSIVE
AS IT WOULD BE SO IS IT MONEY
THAT’S BEING FUNNELED PLACES AND
A QUESTION OF JUST FOLLOWING
THAT MONEY OR IS THE BIGGER
CONCERN WHETHER FOREIGN
OFFICIALS, FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS
COULD HAVE BEEN USING THIS AS A
WAY TO INFLUENCE DONALD TRUMP OR
GAIN FAVOR WITH DONALD TRUMP?
>> WELL, OUR TAKE AWAY FROM THE
SUBPOENA THAT WE REVIEW TONIGHT,
THEIR INVESTIGATION APPEARS TO
BE REALLY BROAD AND SEEM TO BE
LOOKING AT EVERY PART OF THIS.
THEY ASK FOR DOCUMENTS RELATED
TO, AS YOU MENTIONED, ANY
FOREIGN NATIONALS THAT DONATED
OR DISCUSSIONS OF POSSIBLE
DONATIONS FROM FOREIGN
NATIONALS, BUT THEY ALSO ASK FOR
RECORDS RELATED TO ANY DIRECT
PAYMENTS FROM DONORS TO VENDORS,
WHICH WOULD HAVE ALLOWED DONORS
TO EFFECTIVELY NOT GIVE
DISCLOSURE RULES.
DISCLOSURE RULES. RAKE GATES, WHICH WAS THE DEPUTY
CHAIRMAN ON THE INAUGURAL L COME
COMMITTEE WAS ASKING SEVERAL
VENDORS IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING
TO ACCEPT PAYMENT DIRECTLY FROM
DONORS.
DONORS. THE OTHER THING THEY ARE ASKING
FOR IS ANY RECORDS RELATED TO
ONE DONOR IN PARTICULAR, A LOS
ANGELES BASED FINANCE AND A
LONG-TIME DEMOCRATIC DONOR WHO
IN DECEMBER 2016 DONATED
$900,000 TO THE TRUMP INAUGURAL
COMMITTEE.
COMMITTEE. HE’S ALSO SOMEONE THAT ONCE
REGISTERED AS A FOREIGN AGENT ON
BEHALF OF -- THIS IS INTERESTING
THIS IS THE ONLY DONOR THEY
SINGLE OUT.
SINGLE OUT. >> WE KNOW OF ONE PERSON IN THE
PAST SAID THEY DONATED MONEY, A
STRAW DONOR AND REPRESENTING A
FOREIGN NATIONAL WHO WANTED
TICKETS TO INAUGURAL L EEVENTS.
WE KNOW SOME OF THAT ACTIVITY
TOOK PLACE.
TOOK PLACE. >> THAT’S RIGHT.
WE SAW LAST YEAR IN AUGUST SOME
PATTON PLEADED GUILTY AND WAS A
STRAW PURCHASER SO A PROMINENT
OLIGARCH COULD ATTEND THE
NOMINATION.
NOMINATION. THAT’S ONE PART THAT STARTED TO
COME OUT.
COME OUT. >> AN INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT,
REBECCA IS A REPORTER FOR THE
"WALL STREET JOURNAL"."
>>> STILL AHEAD, WHY SOME OF THE
INTELLIGENCE PROFESSIONALS
INTELLIGENCE PROFESSIONALS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRIEFING THE