The new Democratic majority in the U.S. House plans to investigate loans and real estate transactions that could tie President Donald Trump’s real estate empire to the Russian government.
The House Intelligence Committee will look into Trump’s $95 million sale of a Palm Beach mansion to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2008, four years after he bought the property for $41 million, according to the New York Times. Democrats on the committee have suggested the sale could have been part of a money-laundering scheme.
The committee will also investigate hundreds of millions of dollars in loans extended to the Trump Organization by Deutsche Bank, which has been investigated in connection with international money laundering.
Committee Chairman Adam Schiff told the Times that his staff will likely begin making formal records requests later this month, potentially issuing subpoenas to get the information. Among the witnesses Schiff is expected to call is Michael Cohen, the Trump lawyer sent to prison for lying to Congress about dealings with Russia.
Additionally, the House Ways and Means Committee is expected next month to ask the Treasury Department for records of Trump’s tax returns. Committee Chairman Richard Neal expects to make the request after he holds hearings on the returns timed alongside anti-corruption legislation to be unveiled by House Democrats.
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors unsealed obstruction charges against Natalie Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. during the 2016 presidential campaign. [New York Times] — Alex Nitkin