White House press secretary Sarah Sanders sought to distance the White House on Tuesday from the recent legal scrutiny surrounding President Trump’s inaugural committee.
“What I do know at this point, this has nothing to do with the White House,” Sanders told CNN on Tuesday. “And for anything specific or further, I’d refer you back to the Trump inaugural committee.”
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan opened an investigation last year into the activities of the president’s inaugural committee. On Monday, the committee received a sweeping subpoena compelling it to turn over documents related to its donors and information regarding foreign contributions made to the committee.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York also want information about the perks offered to the inaugural committee’s top donors, as well as documents related to its vendors and contractors.
The subpoena indicates federal prosecutors are looking into criminal activity related to conspiracy against the United States, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
The investigation into the Trump inaugural committee is the latest to ensnare an entity close to the president. Already, a number of members of the president’s inner circle have been in legal trouble, most recently his longtime political aide Roger Stone.
But Sanders rejected any suggestion the president is the common thread among those under scrutiny.
“I think the common thread is a hysteria over the fact that this president became president,” she said. “The common thread is that there is so much hatred out there that they will look for anything to try to create and tie problems to this president.”
