Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating President Donald Trump‘s finances, said Bloomberg on Thursday. Senior Advisor (and son-in-law) to POTUS Jared Kushner is also being looked at for his attempts at funding his family’s real estate endeavors. The outlet’s source for the Trump-related information was described as a person “familiar with the probe,” while the Kushner detail was from “someone familiar with the developing inquiry but not authorized to speak publicly.”
U.S. intelligence agencies say the Russian government directed cyber-attacks and other efforts to get Trump elected in the 2016 election, so Mueller is looking at this as well as alleged collusion between Moscow and the commander-in-chief’s campaign. According to the Bloomberg article, for example, investigators want to look at Russian mogul Dmitry Rybolovlev‘s $95 million purchase of Trump’s mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. POTUS’s past link to a SoHo development with Russians and the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow are also being looked at.
Trump attorney John Dowd told the outlet he was unaware of this aspect of the probe.
“Those transactions are in my view well beyond the mandate of the Special counsel; are unrelated to the election of 2016 or any alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and most importantly, are well beyond any Statute of Limitation imposed by the United States Code,” he told them in an email.
Paul Manafort is also being looked at, according to sources described as “two people with knowledge of the probe.” So are deals with the Bank of Cyrus, where Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross worked as vice chairman.
Both Mueller spokesman Joshua Stueve and Abbe Lowell, a Kushner attorney and Manafort spokesman, declined to comment to the outlet. Ross didn’t respond to a request for comment. LawNewz.com has reached out to the White House.
In a recent talk, New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt asked Trump if Mueller looking at the President’s and his family’s finances unassociated with Russia were a “red line.”
“I would say yes,” POTUS said.
The President was non-committal about what he’d do if, as Schmidt put it, Mueller “went outside of certain parameters of what his charge is.”
“I can’t answer that question because I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Trump said.
[Screengrab via MSNBC]
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
