>>> BREAKING NEWS AT THIS HOUR ABOUT FINANCIAL DEALINGS
INVOLVING LGTTHE PRESIDENT OF TH
UNITED STATES THAT ARE NOW BEING
INVESTIGATED BY FEDERAL
PROSECUTORS.
PROSECUTORS. ONE OF THE MOST MYSTERIOUS
MOUNTAINS OF MONEY THAT DONALD
TRUMP HAS RAISED AND CONTROLLED
IS THE RECORD $107 MILLION
RAISED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP’S
INAUGURAL COMMITTEE, THE MOST
ANY INAUGURAL COMMITTEE HAD EVER
RAISED.
RAISED. FEDERAL PROSECUTORS IN NEW YORK
CITY ARE NOW TRYING TO TRACE
EVERY PENNY OF THAT MONEY.
THE "WASHINGTON POST" IS NOW THE
PREFERRED NEWS ORGANIZATION
TONIGHT ALONG WITH THE "NEW YORK
TIMES" TO CONFIRM THAT FEDERAL
PROSECUTORS IN NEW YORK CITY
ISSUED A SUBPOENA TO THE
PRESIDENT’S INAUGURAL COMMITTEE
TODAY, A WIDE-RANGE SUBPOENA
THAT WAS READ IN THE "WASHINGTON
POST."
POST." IN IT PROSECUTORS ARE SEEKING,
QUOTE, AN ARRAY OF DOCUMENTS
INCLUDING ALL INFORMATION
RELATED TO INAUGURAL DONORS,
VENDORS, CONTRACTORS AND FOREIGN
CONTACTS TO THE COMMITTEE.
THE DOCUMENT INDICATES THAT
PROSECUTORS ARE INVESTIGATING
CRIMES RELATED TO CONSPIRACY TO
DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES, MAIL
FRAUD, FALSE STATEMENTS AND
MONEY LAUNDERING.
MONEY LAUNDERING. JOINING US BY PHONE IS
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER ROSALI
HELDERMAN.
HELDERMAN. THERE WAS SOMEONE WHO DONATED
APPROXIMATELY $900,000 TO THE
FUND.
FUND. DOES THE SUBPOENA MENTION
SPECIFIC PEOPLE LIKE THAT THAT
THE SUBPOENA IS INTERESTED IN?
>> YEAH, IT’S INTERESTING, THE
SUBPOENA IS GENERALLY VERY
BROAD, AS YOU MENTIONED.
IT SEEKS DOCUMENTS IN THIS VERY
SWEEPING ARRAY OF TOPICS, BUT IT
ALSO MENTIONS THIS ONE
PARTICULAR DONOR AND COMPANY, A
LOS ANGELES FINANCIER NAMED
AHMAD ZUBERY.
AHMAD ZUBERY. HIS NAME IS THE ONE NAME
SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED IN THE
SUBPOENA.
SUBPOENA. HE WAS A MAJOR DEMOCRATIC DONOR.
HE HAD GIVEN A LARGE AMOUNT OF
MONEY TO PRESIDENT OBAMA AND
HILLARY CLINTON, AND THEN
SUDDENLY IN JANUARY OF 2017, HIS
COMPANY GAVE $100,000 TO SUPPORT
THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION, WHICH
HAD BEEN A FEW MONTHS EARLIER,
AND THEN $900,000 TO SUPPORT
DONALD TRUMP’S INAUGURAL.
HE’S ACTUALLY THE FIRST BULLET
POINT OF THE SUBPOENA.
>> AND WHY IS THIS SUBPOENA
BEING ISSUED BY FEDERAL
PROSECUTORS IN NEW YORK CITY AND
NOT THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
ROBERT MUELLER?
ROBERT MUELLER? >> WE HAD DONE SOME REPORTING A
WHILE BACK NOW THAT THE SPECIAL
COUNSEL HAD BEEN ASKING
QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE
TOPIC OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
FOREIGN DONORS AT THE INAUGURAL.
IT’S NOT LEGAL FOR FOREIGNERS TO
DONATE TO AN INAUGURAL
COMMITTEE.
COMMITTEE. YOU HAVE TO BE A U.S. CITIZEN OR
RESIDENT.
RESIDENT. THIS SUBPOENA COMES FROM THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK,
SO MANHATTAN PROSECUTORS, SO
THAT WOULD SEEM TO BE AN
INDICATION THAT THE THRUST OF
THIS INVESTIGATION IS NOT BEING
HANDLED BY MUELLER’S OFFICE BUT
INSTEAD BY PROSECUTORS ANDIN KIN
OF THE ORDINARY COURSE OF
BUSINESS.
BUSINESS. >> AND THERE’S A BIG DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS
AND INAUGURAL COMMITTEE
CONTRIBUTORS, ISN’T THERE?
THERE IS NO REAL NECESSITY TO
REVEAL WHO YOUR INAUGURAL
CONTRIBUTORS ARE.
CONTRIBUTORS ARE. >> ACTUALLY, THERE IS AN FCC
REQUIREMENT TO REVEAL AN
INAUGURAL DONOR.
INAUGURAL DONOR. WE HAVE THE FCC DOCUMENTS THAT
HAD BEEN RELEASED BY PRESIDENT
TRUMP’S INAUGURAL COMMITTEE THAT
SHOWS THE COMPANIES AND PEOPLE
THEY SAY DONATED.
INTERESTINGLY, PART OF WHAT THE
SUBPOENA SEEKS IS SORT OF A
RESTATEMENT TO DONORS AS WELL AS
KIND OF THEIR RECORDS THAT WERE
PUT TOGETHER BY THE INAUGURAL
COMMITTEE IN ORDER TO FILE THOSE
FCC DOCUMENTS.
FCC DOCUMENTS. SO IT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THE
MANY, MANY THINGS THEY’RE
LOOKING AT HERE IS WHETHER THE
FCC FILINGS ACCURATELY REFLECT
WHO REALLY GAVE TO THE
COMMITTEE.
COMMITTEE. >> ROSALIND HELDERMAN, THANK YOU
FOR JOINING US WITH YOUR
BREAKING NEWS TONIGHT.
REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
>>> WHAT THE "WASHINGTON POST"
IS REPORTING TONIGHT ALONG WITH
THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL" HAS A
SECOND REPORT THAT DONALD TRUMP,
CANDIDATE DONALD TRUMP,
REQUESTED A $10 MILLION LOAN
FROM DEUTSCHE BANK DURING THE
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.
DEUTSCHE BANK TURNED DOWN THAT
TRUMP LOAN REQUEST.
THE "TIMES" REPORTS, QUOTE,
SENIOR OFFICIALS AT THE BANK,
INCLUDING THE FUTURE SENIOR
EXECUTIVE, BELIEVES MR. TRUMP’S
DID I VICE SIEVE-- DIVISIVE CAND
WAS TOO RISKY.
THE PREVIOUSLY REQUESTED LOAN
REQUEST COULD BRING SCRUTINY
FROM DEMOCRATS BECAUSE OF THE
BANK’S PAST INVOLVEMENT IN
RUSSIAN MONEY LAUNDERING
SCHEMES.
SCHEMES. JOINING OURS R DISCUSSION NOW AR
TWO PEOPLE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED THE
MONEY OF DONALD TRUMP AND BOTH
HAVE WRITTEN BOOKS ABOUT THE
BUSINESS OF DONALD TRUMP.
HE WON A PULITZER PRIZE.
HE IS NOW A FOUNDER OF DC.ORG,
AND MOST RECENTLY, "IT’S WORSE
THAN YOU THINK: WHAT THE TRUMP
ORGANIZATION IS DOING TO
AMERICA."
AMERICA." HE WAS UNNECESSARILY SUED BY
TRUMP FOR WRITING THAT BOOK AND
HE IS NOW AN EXECUTIVE AND
ANALYST OF BLOOMBERG.
HE IS BEING INVESTIGATED FOR
WIRE FRAUD, FALSE STATEMENTS,
CRIMES OF FRAUD AND MONEY
LAUNDERING.
LAUNDERING. WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING?
>> IT’S TAKEN A LONG TIME TO GET
THERE.
THERE. SINCE WE FOUND OUT, LAWRENCE,
THEY HAD RAISED $107 MILLION,
I’VE BEEN CALLING FOR A CRIMINAL
AUDIT.
AUDIT. THERE IS NO INDICATION THEY
SPENT EVEN A QUARTER THAT MUCH
MONEY ON THE REALLY MINIMAL SORT
OF INAUGURAL CELEBRATION THAT
THEY HAD.
THEY HAD. WHO PUT THE MONEY IN?
WHERE DID IT GO?
AND WE REALLY NEED ANSWERS.
I THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO
THE PUBLIC THAT WE LEARN THAT
THESE SUBPOENAS ARE OUT THERE,
AND I’M SURE THERE WILL NOW BE A
FINE-TOOTH COMB RUN OVER THE
BOOKS TO FIND OUT WHERE THE
MONEY CAME IN AND WHO IT WENT TO
AND WHY.
AND WHY. >> AND, TIM, NOT SURPRISINGLY,
ONE OF THE CRIMES THAT THE
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS ARE
INVESTIGATING IN RELATION TO THE
INAUGURAL COMMITTEE IS FALSE
STATEMENTS.
STATEMENTS. SO THEY’VE ALREADY BEEN
INVESTIGATING AND OTHERS HAVE
BEEN INVESTIGATING WHAT HAPPENED
WITH THE $107 MILLION.
AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SOME OF
THE TRUMP PEOPLE INVOLVED IN
THIS MIGHT NOT HAVE TOLD THE
ENTIRE TRUTH TO INVESTIGATORS.
>> ARE YOU SHOCKED, LAWRENCE?
ARE YOU SHOCKED AT THIS?
>> THAT IS, OF COURSE, EXACTLY
WHERE YOU EXPECT THEM TO BE
CAUGHT UP IS ON THE FALSE
STATEMENTS.
STATEMENTS. >> YOU KNOW, IT’S NOT JUST THE
MONEY ITSELF BUT IT’S WHERE THE
MONEY CAME FROM.
THEY ALSO WANT TO KNOW IF THIS
MONEY CAME FROM FOREIGN DONORS.
AND THIS IS THE LARGER ISSUE
THAT’S HUNG OVER ALMOST
EVERYTHING DONALD TRUMP TOUCHED
BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE
ELECTION.
ELECTION. IT TOUCHED HIS BUSINESS, IT
TOUCHED HIS CAMPAIGN, IT TOUCHED
THE INAUGURATION, IT TOUCHED THE
TRANSITION.
TRANSITION. FOREIGN MONEY COMING INTO THE
TRUMP COFFERS WITH QUESTIONS NOW
RAISED BY PROSECUTORS WHETHER OR
NOT THAT WAS INFLUENCE PEDDLING.
IT’S REALLY NO MORE COMPLEX THAN
THAT.
THAT. THE COMPLEXITIES ARE DID HIS
TEAM KNOW ABOUT IT AND DID THEY
LIE TO COVER IT UP?
WERE THERE QUID PRO QUOS AND HOW
EXTENSIVE WERE THEY?
THE REAL INTEREST WAS FOREIGN
INTERESTS PAYING MONEY TO TRUMP
CONCERNS IN ORDER TO GET FAVORS.
>> AND DAVID, EVERYONE IN
POLITICS AND POLITICAL
CAMPAIGNS, THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW
HOW TO DO IT IN A LEGAL WAY,
KNOW THERE ARE BAD DONORS WHO
WANT TO COME INTO YOUR WORLD.
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO
COME INTO YOUR CAMPAIGN WHO YOU
DO NOT WANT ON YOUR DONOR LIST,
AND SOME OF THEM ARE COMPLETELY
LEGAL TO CONTRIBUTE.
THEY ARE AMERICANS, BUT THEY
MIGHT HAVE HAD SOME PROBLEMS
WITH THE SEC OR SOME KIND OF
THINGS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM THAT
YOU DON’T WANT ASSOCIATED WITH
YOUR CAMPAIGN.
YOUR CAMPAIGN. THAT INVOLVES TURNING DOWN MONEY
THAT COMES YOUR WAY.
HAS DONALD TRUMP EVER TURNED
DOWN MONEY THAT HAS COME EASILY
HIS WAY?
HIS WAY? >> DID THE SUN FAIL TO RISE IN
THE EAST THIS MORNING?
THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT.
REMEMBER WHEN BILL CLINTON GOT
IN TROUBLE BECAUSE OF SOME
HINCKLEY CHARACTER IN MARINA DEL
RAY, CALIFORNIA WHO MADE
CONTRIBUTIONS.
CONTRIBUTIONS. POLITICIANS HAVE TO WATCH THIS
AND WHEN YOU SLIP UP, YOU GIVE
THE MONEY TO CHARITY OR BACK TO
THE INDIVIDUAL, DEPENDING ON
CIRCUMSTANCES.
CIRCUMSTANCES. WE HAVEN’T SEEN A SINGLE THING
BY TRUMP OR THE PEOPLE AROUND
HIM TO CORRECT THE RECORD.
THAT’S BECAUSE TO THE LEADER OF
THIS GROUP, DONALD TRUMP, THERE
IS NOTHING WRONG WITH ANY OF
THIS.
THIS. WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU, LAWRENCE,
FOR QUESTIONING THIS?
>> MAGGIE HABERMAN IS TWEETING
AS PART OF THE "NEW YORK TIMES"
REPORT SAYING, THIS SUBPOENA IS
HUGE IN SCOPE AND WHAT THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK,
WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER
REMINDER THAT AS MUELLER
PREPARES TO WIND DOWN, LEGAL
ISSUES RELATED TO TRUMP ARE
GOING TO CONTINUE TO HANG AROUND
IN LOWER MANHATTAN FOR A LONG
TIME.
TIME. AND TIM OH’BRIEN, THERE ARE SOME
WHO HAVE SAID DONALD TRUMP’S
BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THE ONE HERE
IN MANHATTAN, THE ONE WHO
ALREADY HAS MICHAEL COHEN’S
CONVICTION AND DONALD TRUMP
NAMED AS A CONSPIRATOR IN A NUT
CASE.
CASE. >> THEY’RE ACTUALLY JUST PLAYING
BINGO AND IT’S ROBERT MUELLER
PLAYING THREE-DIMENSIONAL CHESS.
AT SOME POINT IN TIMES PAST, HE
DECIDED TO HAND OFF THE
INVESTIGATION TO THE SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF NEW YORK.
THIS IS WHEN HE WAS UNDER A LOT
OF PRESSURE IN WASHINGTON TO
DEFINE THE LIMITS OF HIS
INVESTIGATION, TO MAKE SURE IT
WAS JUST A COLLUSION
INVESTIGATION, OR AN OBSTRUCTION
INVESTIGATION, WHEN THE WHOLE
THING COULD BECOME A HIGH CRIMES
INVESTIGATION, WHICH
INVESTIGATION, WHICH INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION. HE HAS CRIMES THAT HE’S GIVEN TO
OTHER JURISDICTIONS THAT ARE
OUTSIDE THE PRESIDENT’S REACH.
THAT NOT ONLY INCLUDES THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK,
IT’S ALSO THE NEW YORK STATE
ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE.
ALL OF THOSE THINGS, AS MAGGIE
POINTED OUT IN HER TWEET, WILL
POSSIBLY HAUNT TRUMP MUCH LONGER
THAN HIS PRESIDENCY.
DEVELOPMENTS OF ALL THAT MAY
MEAN IN SORT OF AN UNTHINKING
EMBRACE OF THE PRESIDENCY AND
THE WHITE HOUSE, HE PUT HIS
ENTIRE FAMILY AND BUSINESS IN
JEOPARDY.
JEOPARDY. >> AND, DAVID, THE SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, THE
MANHATTAN FEDERAL PROSECUTORS
WHO ARE ON THIS CASE, THEY ARE
THE ONES WHO HAVE ALREADY
OBTAINED THE COOPERATION OF
PEOPLE WORKING IN THE TRUMP
COMPANY, INCLUSION THE CHIEF
FINANCIAL OFFICER.
FINANCIAL OFFICER. THEY GOT COOPERATION FROM HIM
DURING THEIR INVESTIGATION OF
MICHAEL COHEN, AND PRESUMABLY
COOPERATION FOR ANYTHING ELSE
THEY MIGHT BE INQUIRING ABOUT.
>> YES, AND REMEMBER, WHEN
DONALD TRUMP GOT RID OF ALL THE
U.S. ATTORNEYS AS COVER SO HE
COULD GET RID OF FERRARA RUNNING
THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OFFICE,
AND I SUSPECT TIM WOULD AGREE
WITH ME ABOUT THIS, HE FIGURED,
WELL, I’VE TAKEN CARE OF THAT
PROBLEM.
PROBLEM. HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE
INTEGRITY OF PEOPLE IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT.
ENFORCEMENT. THAT DOESN’T MEAN THEY DON’T
SCREW UP NOW AND THEN AND DO
THINGS THEY SHOULDN’T DO, BUT
OVERALL THEY ARE RESOLUTE IN
GOING AFTER PEOPLE ENGAGED IN
WRONGFUL CONDUCT, AND THE
ABILITY THEY HAVE NOW, BECAUSE
OF PEOPLE LIKE MICHAEL COHEN AND
ALAN WIESELBURG COOPERATING TO
SOME DEGREE MEANS THEY ARE GOING
TO BE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER
SERIOUS CASES IF ANY MONEY WAS
OUT OF PLACE AT ALL.
AND IF THEY LIED ABOUT THE
MONEY, AND THE SUBPOENA SEEMS TO
MAKE IT PRETTY CLEAR THAT THERE
WAS ALREADY SOME LIES TOLD ABOUT
THIS ASTONISHING AMOUNT OF
MONEY, $107 MILLION FOR THE