From business insider
Mueller is investigating a $150,000 payment a pro-Russian oligarch made to the Trump Foundation during the campaign
Sonam Sheth
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Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller. Alex Wong/Getty Images
The special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly probing a $150,000 donation a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch made to the Trump Foundation in September 2015.
The oligarch, Victor Pinchuk, made the donation after then-candidate Donald Trump gave a 20-minute speech at a European conference that promoted closer ties between Ukraine and the West.
The donation was reportedly solicited by Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, whose offices were raided by the FBI as part of a separate investigation on Monday.
The special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into a large donation a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch made to the Trump Foundation in September 2015 after then-candidate Donald Trump gave a video talk at a conference in Kiev, Ukraine, The New York Times reported.
At the time, Trump was one of several Republicans vying for the 2016 presidential nomination. In August 2015, Doug Schoen, a political consultant who works for the Ukrainian billionaire and steel magnate Victor Pinchuk, personally contacted Trump to set up the speech, according to the report.
Trump accepted the request but reportedly did not broach the subject of any payment. However, his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, is said to have called Schoen the next day to ask for a $150,000 fee from Pinchuk in exchange for the talk.
The revelation comes as Mueller investigates the flow of foreign money into the Trump campaign and Trump's personal business. The special counsel is also examining whether administration officials used their influence within the White House to benefit their personal finances.