The day after Donald Trump warned Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller “against delving into matters too far afield from Russia” in a wide-ranging New York Times interview, Bloomberg reports the former FBI director is doing just that. An anonymous source familiar with the probe revealed Mueller and his team are, in addition to investigating the president for possible obstruction of justice, tackling his and his business associates’ dealings abroad. Said associates include son-in-law turned Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, as well as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who previously served as the Bank of Cyprus’ vice chairman.
Per Bloomberg, the expansion of Mueller’s probe into Trump’s business affairs includes a great deal:
FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a controversial SoHo development with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump’s sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008, the person said.
As for Kushner and Ross’ involvement, Mueller’s investigators are pouring over information regarding Trump’s dealings with the Bank of Cyprus during the latter’s tenure there. His son-in-law’s efforts to acquire funding for real estate properties for his family, and how these dealings relate (or not) to Trump and his presidential campaign, are also under consideration. Interestingly enough, Bloomberg’s source claims fired U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara‘s money laundering probe that targeted Trump is a major source of Mueller’s new direction.
Meanwhile, the Times reported on Wednesday that Deutsche Bank — with whom Trump boasted about having a friendly relationship during his presidential campaign — is cooperating with the FBI’s investigation regarding its Trump accounts. What’s more, the story indicates the German financial institution may soon coordinate with Mueller’s Russia probe, though the Bloomberg report on Thursday didn’t include anything about Deutsche’s possible involvement. As for the president himself, he has remained unusually quiet on Twitter following last night’s statement on Sen. John McCain.
(Via Bloomberg and New York Times)