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DOJ Probing Republican Fundraiser Elliott Broidy, Report Says

DOJ Probing Republican Fundraiser Elliott Broidy, Report Says

(Bloomberg) -- The Justice Department is investigating whether Republican fundraiser Elliott Broidy sought to sell his influence within the Trump administration to foreign officials in exchange for tens of millions of dollars, Washington Post reports, citing three unidentified people unfamiliar with the matter.

  • Prosecutors are investigating a plan where Broidy is alleged to have developed to persuade the Trump administration to extradite a Chinese dissident back to his country, as sought by Chinese President Xi Jinping
  • Broidy also allegedly sought $75m from a Malaysian business official if the DOJ ended its investigation of a development fund ran by the Malaysian government
  • “Elliott Broidy has never agreed to work for, been retained by nor been compensated by any foreign government for any interaction with the United States Government, ever. Any implication to the contrary is a lie,” Broidy’s lawyer Chris Clark said in a statement provided to Bloomberg
  • DOJ declined to comment, the White House referred the Post’s request for comment to the Republican National Committee, which declined to comment
  • In recent weeks, prosecutors with the DOJ’s public integrity section have sought documents related to Broidy’s business dealings, including details about Broidy’s work on behalf of and interactions with Chinese and Malaysian officials
    • President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said he had no knowledge of request for records related to Broidy
  • Casino magnate Steve Wynn has been subpoenaed for copies of records and communications related to Broidy
    • Wynn’s lawyer Reid Weingarten told the Post Wynn was cooperating with DOJ, declined to comment further
  • NOTE: August 8, U.S. District Judge John Walter in Los Angeles granted Qatar’s request to be dismissed from Broidy’s lawsuit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; July 31, a California state judge made Shera Bechard’s complaint against Elliott Broidy and others public, though parts remain redacted

To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Devlin Marier in San Francisco at rdevlin5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Clementine Fletcher at cfletcher5@bloomberg.net, Huang Zhe

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.