Special Counsel Robert Mueller in recent weeks issued subpoenas for the Trump Organization seeking certain documents, including those related to Russia, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing two unnamed sources.
The subpoenas come as there are other signs that Mueller’s investigation is examining the business dealings of Trump and his family.
Trump last year said that a Mueller investigation into his businesses, unrelated to Russia, would be a “violation.”
Trump has denied conducting business in Russia, beyond the Miss Universe pageant he held in Moscow in 2013, and what he has described as a house he sold “to a very wealthy Russian many years ago.”
However, Trump associates explored building a Trump Tower in Moscow — a project that was being considered even after Trump entered the presidential campaign in 2015.
In 2015, Trump signed a non-binding “letter of intent,” and discussed the potential deal with his attorney Michael Cohen. Felix Sater, a Trump business associate, told TPM that he and Cohen were still working on the project towards the end of 2015. Cohen sent an email in January 2016 to Vladimir Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov seeking assistance on a project with “a company based in Russia regarding the development of a Trump Tower – Moscow project in Moscow City.”
Some members of Trump’s White House legal team for the Russia investigation have stressed that they expect it to wrap up shortly. The move to subpoena the Trump Organization suggested that Mueller isn’t done quite yet. Neither the White House nor Trump Org. attorney Alan S. Futerfas returned the New York Times’ request for comment about the subpoena.
Mueller has already racked up plea deals from members of Trump’s 2016 campaign, as well as his ex-National Security Advisor Mike Flynn. Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is facing multiple indictments in Mueller’s probe, which also issued indictments against 13 Russians said to have engaged in a social media crusade to influence American voters.
