White House

Prosecutors have reportedly subpoenaed Trump's inaugural committee for documents

Key Points
  • Lawyers for President Donald Trump's inaugural committee on Monday received a subpoena for documents from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, according to a Wall Street Journal report. 
  • The subpoena requests documents related to the committee's donors and spending.
  • The investigation is examining whether some of the committee's donors gave money in exchange for policy concessions, influencing administration positions or access to the incoming administration, the Journal said.
President Donald J. Trump meets with Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China Liu He in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019 in Washington, DC.
The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Lawyers for President Donald Trump's inaugural committee on Monday received a subpoena for documents from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, which is investigating the committee, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The subpoena requests documents related to the committee's donors and spending, according to the Journal, which said it had viewed a copy of the subpoena.

In December, the newspaper reported that federal prosecutors were investigating whether the inaugural committee misspent some of the record $107 million it had raised from donors.

The investigation is examining whether some of the committee's donors gave money in exchange for policy concessions, influencing administration positions or access to the incoming administration, the Journal reported.

Prosecutors also showed interest in whether any foreigners illegally donated to the committee, the New York Times reported. Federal law prohibits foreign contributions to inaugural funds.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan declined to comment to Reuters.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although campaign finance laws restrict the size of campaign contributions, inaugurations can accept unlimited donations, including from corporations. The amount raised by Trump's inaugural committee, chaired by real estate developer and investor Thomas Barrack, was the largest in history, according to Federal Election Commission filings.