Another case where the states (or actually D.C. in this case) are pursuing Trump-related investigations that either parallel or extend federal-level probes.
… Last month, [Stephanie Winston] Wolkoff received a subpoena from the Washington, D.C., attorney general’s office, requesting documents related to President Trump’s inauguration, which Wolkoff had a heavy hand in planning. The $107 million event has been under investigation for months, including by federal prosecutors in New York and New Jersey, for profligate spending and questions about foreign donations. The latest subpoena appears to be probing potential self-dealing by the Trump Organization and members of the president’s family, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
Wolkoff complied with the request, according to these sources, by the July 26 deadline, which asked her to turn over records involving the inaugural event, the president’s family and associates, and expenditures by the inaugural committee that could shine a light on whether the nonprofit group provided private benefits to the Trump Organization. The attorney general appears to be particularly interested in payments being made through the inaugural committee to Trump-owned businesses, and whether there was a fair bidding process for contractors.
In response to a request for comment, Wolkoff said she signed a nondisclosure agreement and could not comment on any investigation, subpoena, or her cooperation. “If the [Presidential Inaugural Committee] wants to release me from this obligation, I would be able to speak freely without the fear of legal or financial repercussions,” she said in a statement. “Otherwise, I am regrettably unable to provide substantial comment.” Her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. The White House declined to comment. A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office did not immediately respond.
The gulf between what Wolkoff knows and what she is publicly able to say can be measured in tens of thousands of documents, email exchanges, meeting minutes, and phone calls. She has, after all, known first lady Melania Trump for years, making her one of a small circle of confidants.
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The subpoena issued by the D.C. attorney general focused in on potential self-dealing from the inaugural committee to Trump-owned businesses. That narrowed lens seems to stem, in part, from emails between Wolkoff, employees of the Trump Organization, members of the Trump inaugural committee, and the Trump family made public in news reports earlier this year. As I previously reported, both Wolkoff and Gates stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, a stone’s throw away from the White House, throughout the inaugural planning. In all, the Trump International Hotel was paid more than $1.5 million in inaugural funds.
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The new subpoena represents a possible new avenue that could ensnare members of Trump world who have previously evaded charges, despite a number of investigations and probes across federal prosecutorial districts and committees on Capitol Hill.
