CAMPAIGN FINANCE/LEGAL/RUDY GIULIANI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Federal prosecutors are investigating whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee misspent some of the record $107 million it raised from donors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday [12-13-18], citing people it said were familiar with the matter. The early-stage investigation by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office is examining whether some of the committee’s donors gave money in exchange for policy concessions, influencing administration positions or access to the incoming administration, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. Asked about the report, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told Reuters the president was not involved in his inaugural committee…White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders also said the inauguration had nothing to do with Trump or his wife, Melania.”
–Reuters, “Federal Prosecutors Probing Trump Inauguration Spending: WSJ,” The New York Times online, December 13, 2018