News reports say that U.S. prosecutors have asked the committee that planned President Donald Trump's inauguration to turn over documents and records related to the 2017 event.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both reported February 4 that the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan issued a subpoena seeking information on the committee’s donors and event attendees, ticket details, federal disclosure filings, and other details.
The Times said prosecutors appeared to be interested in whether any foreigners illegally donated to the committee.
U.S. law prohibits foreign contributions to federal campaigns, political action committees and inauguration committees.
The subpoena was not brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is continuing to investigate Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election and interactions between Russian officials and Trump associates.
But the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office is one of the most powerful offices in the country, and has already opened other investigations that are directly connected to Trump.
That includes the case against Trump's longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who has pleaded guilty to campaign finance and other charges.
Another U.S. attorney's office in New York City-- in the Brooklyn district-- has its own investigation into whether foreigners sought to secretly donate money to Trump's inauguration.
In addition to the ceremony formally swearing-in a newly elected president, inaugurations are lavish social events, with dozens of parties held around Washington, organized by a president's political allies as well as other groups.
Last year, Samuel Patten, a longtime Washington operative, admitted that he helped a Russian-Ukrainian man named Konstantin Kilimnik and another foreigner illegally obtain four tickets to Trump’s inauguration.
Kilimnik has been indicted by Mueller on charges of witness tampering, connected to Trump’s first campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.
