On Tuesday, Politico reported that federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York are charging Imaad Zuberi, a California-based investor, with obstruction of justice related to his involvement with President Donald Trump's inaugural fund.
Zuberi, who pleaded guilty last October to making illegal political contributions and failing to register as a foreign agent, has been a frequent donor to politicians in both parties, but the matter under investigation is a $900,000 contribution to the president's inauguration, some of which allegedly came from a client that Zuberi had promised "exclusive access to certain inaugural events."
Prosecutors now allege that after Zuberi became aware he was under investigation for this contribution, he returned the money to his client, backdated the check to make it look like it was returned before he learned of the probe, and deleted emails that contained info about his finances — all in an attempt to obstruct the grand jury.
The Trump inaugural fund has been under criminal investigation for over a year, with prosecutors attempting to determine both whether some of the donors were promised political favors, and whether any of the money was improperly spent.