Democrats ask FBI to probe Trump call with donor Sheldon Adelson to see if ‘bribe’ was offered
President spoke with Mr Adelson last week
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Your support makes all the difference.Two Democrats have written to the FBI asking the agency to investigate whether a “bribe” was offered during a conversation between Donald Trump and Sheldon Adelson, one of the president’s most important campaign donors.
In a joint letter sent to the FBI on Monday, California Rep Ted Lieu, and New York Rep Kathleen Rice, called on detectives to probe whether an offer of money was made in exchange for action on a policy.
“As former prosecutors and current Members of Congress, we request the Federal Bureau of Investigation look into whether any crimes were committed during a conversation between President Trump and Sheldon Adelson,” the letter states.
“In this case, Mr Adelson discussed a specific piece of legislation, the Coronavirus relief bill, with the President,” it adds.
The conversation in question took place last week, when Mr Adelson, an 87-year-old billionaire casino mogul, reached out to Mr Trump to discuss the coronavirus relief package, according to Politico.
Talks between the two men later turned to campaign finances, the Politico report states. Mr Trump then allegedly antagonised Mr Adelson, and questioned why the Republican donor had not given more money to boost his re-election chances.
It is this part of the conversation that led Mr Lieu and Ms Rice to write to the FBI.
“In the same conversation, the President asked Mr. Adelson to do more to support his campaign. Depending on what exactly was said, a bribe or solicitation of a bribe may have occurred,” the letter continues.
The Politico report did not include any details suggesting that any crime took place during the conversation.
A source close to Mr Adelson told The Nevada Independent that the letter was “pure politics”. The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Some Republicans fear that the conversation may have soured relations between Mr Trump and Mr Adelson, who has pledged to donate $100m to help re-elect the president and his allies on Capitol Hill.
Mr Trump was reportedly unaware of how much cash Mr Adelson had vowed to hand over to Republicans running for office.
Mr Adelson and his wife donated a staggering $124 million towards political campaigns throughout the 2018 midterm elections, a record for the prominent business family.
Mr Adelson has consistently donated large sums of money near the end of the election to Super Pacs.
The Republican donor began supporting Mr Trump in 2016 as he took on campaign promises in support of Israel, like moving the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, and visited the White House during the unveiling of the administration’s Middle East peace plan.
This was despite Mr Trump promising that he would fund his own campaign, saying in June 2015: “I don’t need anybody’s money.”
“I’m using my own money,” he said at the time. “I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using the donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich.”
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