Former Top Trump Fundraiser Elliott Broidy Charged With Illegal Foreign Lobbying
JakeThomas
Elliott Broidy, a former top fundraiser for President Trump and the Republican Party, was charged with illegal lobbying on behalf of foreign interests, according to Bloomberg.
The outlet reported that “Broidy participated in a scheme to illegally lobby the Trump administration to stop investigating the embezzlement scandal at the 1MDB Malaysian state investment fund, according to charging documents unsealed on Wednesday.”
Jho Low, a Malaysian fugitive who was charged as the mastermind of the 1MDB fraud, initially paid Broidy $6 million to lobby the U.S. Justice Department to stop its investigation and promised an additional $75 million if the lobbying succeeded, the filing said. Broidy is accused of conspiring to serve as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal.
Broidy was charged in a document known as a criminal information, which often precedes a guilty plea and a defendant’s cooperation with prosecutors. A spokesman for Broidy declined to comment.