Inauguration of Donald Trump

== Investigations ==
Multiple investigations related to Trump's inauguration were launched, including:

* A [[House Intelligence Committee]] investigation into possible attempts to obstruct the committee's investigation of Russian election interference and the many suspicious<ref name="Harding_11/15/2017">{{cite web |last=Harding |first=Luke |title=How Trump walked into Putin's web |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=November 15, 2017 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/15/how-trump-walked-into-putins-web-luke |access-date=May 22, 2019 |quote=...the Russians were talking to people associated with Trump. The precise nature of these exchanges has not been made public, but according to sources in the US and the UK, they formed a suspicious pattern. }}</ref><ref name="Harding_Kirchgaessner_Hopkins_4/13/2017">{{cite web |last1=Harding |first1=Luke |last2=Kirchgaessner |first2=Stephanie |last3=Hopkins |first3=Nick |title=British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=April 13, 2017 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/apr/13/british-spies-first-to-spot-trump-team-links-russia |access-date=May 13, 2019}}</ref> [[links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies]].<ref name="30investigations" >{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/13/us/politics/trump-investigations.html|title=Tracking 30 Investigations Related to Trump |author1=Larry Buchanan |author2=Karen Yourish |date=May 20, 2019|website=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref>
* A [[House Judiciary Committee]] investigation into potential obstruction of justice and abuse of power by Trump and the Trump administration<ref name="30investigations"/> 
* An investigation by the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York]] into whether the Trump inaugural committee filed false [[Federal Election Commission|FEC]] reports or accepted illegal contributions from foreign nationals. The investigation was a partial outgrowth of a recording seized by the FBI in which Trump's personal lawyer and "fixer" [[Michael Cohen (lawyer)|Michael D. Cohen]] discuss possible irregularities with inauguration contractor [[Stephanie Winston Wolkoff]].<ref name="30investigations"/>
* An investigation by the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York]] involving the business and political dealings of [[Elliott Broidy]], a major financier of Trump's campaign and inauguration.<ref name="30investigations"/> 
* An investigation by the [[New Jersey Attorney General|New Jersey attorney general]] regarding contributions to Trump's inaugural committee.<ref name="30investigations"/>
* An investigation by the [[Attorney General for the District of Columbia]] regarding the role on the inaugural committee of Trump's children, [[Donald Trump Jr.|Donald Jr.]], [[Ivanka Trump|Ivanka]], and [[Eric Trump|Eric]], and payments to the [[Old Post Office (Washington, D.C.)|Trump International Hotel]] and [[Trump Organization]].<ref name="30investigations"/>

=== Investigation by the special counsel ===
{{Main|Mueller special counsel investigation}}
{{See also|Links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies|Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections (July 2016–election day)|Timeline of post-election transition following Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections}}
News reports surfaced in April 2018 that the [[Special Counsel investigation (2017–present)|Special Counsel investigation]] is looking into the inaugural committee's finances. Prosecutors have questioned several Russian oligarchs, upon their arrival at a U.S. airport, about whether any Russian money was illegally funneled into the inauguration committee or the Trump campaign itself.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/politics/mueller-special-counsel-investigation-russian-oligarchs/index.html|title=Exclusive: Mueller's team questioning Russian oligarchs|last1=Scannell|first1=Kara|last2=Prokupecz|first2=Shimon|date=April 4, 2018|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=September 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404210728/https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/04/politics/mueller-special-counsel-investigation-russian-oligarchs/index.html|archive-date=April 4, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Robert Mueller]]'s team has questioned Barrack and other witnesses, reportedly asking about "donors with connections to Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/exclusive-special-counsel-probing-donations-foreign-connections-trump/story?id=55054482|title=EXCLUSIVE: Special counsel probing donations with foreign connections to Trump inauguration|date=May 11, 2018|work=[[ABC News]]|access-date=September 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902200106/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/exclusive-special-counsel-probing-donations-foreign-connections-trump/story?id=55054482|archive-date=September 2, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Counterintelligence agents with the FBI began investigating this possibility immediately after the inauguration itself, their interest sparked by the large number of wealthy Russians who attended the inauguration and the special events that attended it.<ref name="why">{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/7/5/17505728/trump-inauguration-mueller-russians-rick-gates|title=Why Trump's inauguration money is a major part of Mueller's Russia investigation|last=Prokop|first=Andrew|date=July 5, 2018|work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|access-date=September 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206194934/https://www.vox.com/2018/7/5/17505728/trump-inauguration-mueller-russians-rick-gates|archive-date=December 6, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Sam-Patten-plea-agreement.pdf|thumb|Samuel Patten plea agreement]]
In August 2018, American political consultant [[W. Samuel Patten]], an associate of Trump campaign chairman [[Paul Manafort]], pleaded guilty in federal court to [[Foreign Agent Registration Act|failure to register as a foreign agent]] in connection with the illegal funneling of foreign funds to the presidential inauguration committee. Patten admitted to arranging a "[[Straw donor|straw donation]]" in which $50,000 was funneled from a Ukrainian businessman to a U.S. citizen to donate to the committee in exchange for four tickets to the inauguration. Patten also admitted to giving misleading testimony to the [[Senate Intelligence Committee]] about the matter.<ref name="HeldermanHsuFunnel">Rosalind S. Helderman & Spencer S. Hsu, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/washington-consultant-for-ukraine-party-set-to-plead-guilty-to-violating-lobbyist-disclosure-law/2018/08/31/172cf2c8-ad23-11e8-a8d7-0f63ab8b1370_story.html American political consultant admits foreign money was funneled to Trump inaugural] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901011856/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/washington-consultant-for-ukraine-party-set-to-plead-guilty-to-violating-lobbyist-disclosure-law/2018/08/31/172cf2c8-ad23-11e8-a8d7-0f63ab8b1370_story.html |date=September 1, 2018 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' (August 31, 2018).</ref> In exchange for a recommendation of a lenient sentence, Patten pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with [[Special Counsel investigation]] led by [[Robert Mueller]].<ref name="HeldermanHsuFunnel"/>

In court documents, prosecutors wrote that Patten formed a lobbying and consulting firm with a Russian national identified as "Foreigner A"; the firm was paid for work advising the Ukrainian [[Opposition Bloc]] party and some Bloc members, including "a prominent Ukraine businessman identified only as 'Foreigner B.'"<ref name="HeldermanHsuFunnel"/> ''The Washington Post'' and ''The New York Times'' identified [[Konstantin Kilimnik]] (a Manafort associate whom prosecutors allege is a Russian intelligence operative) as "Foreigner A" and [[Serhiy Lyovochkin|Serhiy Lovochkin]] (a former aide to [[Viktor Yanukovych]], the pro-Russian former [[president of Ukraine]]) as "Foreigner B."<ref name="HeldermanHsuFunnel"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/us/politics/patten-fara-manafort.html|title=Lobbyist Sam Patten Pleads Guilty to Steering Foreign Funds to Trump Inaugural|website=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 31, 2018 |access-date=September 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831175608/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/us/politics/patten-fara-manafort.html|archive-date=August 31, 2018|url-status=live|last1=Vogel |first1=Kenneth P. |last2=Lafraniere |first2=Sharon |last3=Goldman |first3=Adam }}</ref> Kilimnik attended Trump's inauguration.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/russian-ukrainian-operative-was-at-trump-inauguration-filing-shows/4778021.html |title=Russian-Ukrainian Operative Was at Trump Inauguration, Filing Shows |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=February 7, 2019 |via=VOANews.com |agency=[[Reuters]]|access-date=February 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208070019/https://www.voanews.com/a/russian-ukrainian-operative-was-at-trump-inauguration-filing-shows/4778021.html |archive-date=February 8, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Investigation by U.S. attorney's office in New York ===
''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''The New York Times'' reported in December 2018 that federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Brooklyn are investigating whether Middle Eastern foreigners sought to buy influence over American policies by using straw donors to illegally funnel donations to Trump's inaugural committee and a pro-Trump Super PAC.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/politics/trump-inauguration-investigation.html|title=Trump Inaugural Fund and Super PAC Said to Be Scrutinized for Illegal Foreign Donations|first1=Sharon|last1=LaFraniere|first2=Maggie|last2=Haberman|first3=Adam|last3=Goldman|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 13, 2018|access-date=February 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205080411/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/us/politics/trump-inauguration-investigation.html|archive-date=February 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-inauguration-spending-under-criminal-investigation-by-federal-prosecutors-11544736455|title=Trump Inauguration Spending Under Criminal Investigation by Federal Prosecutors|first1=Rebecca Davis|last1=O'Brien|first2=Rebecca|last2=Ballhaus|first3=Aruna|last3=Viswanatha|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=December 13, 2018|via=www.wsj.com|access-date=December 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181213225502/https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-inauguration-spending-under-criminal-investigation-by-federal-prosecutors-11544736455|archive-date=December 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Trump inaugural committee received a subpoena from federal prosecutors on February 4, 2019. The SDNY subpoena demanded a comprehensive array of documents involving the committee's donors, finances, attendees and activities. The subpoena named one person of interest: fundraiser [[Imaad Zuberi]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/us/politics/trump-inaugural-committee-subpoena.html|title=Trump Inaugural Committee Ordered to Hand Over Documents to Federal Investigators|first1=Maggie|last1=Haberman|first2=Ben|last2=Protess|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 4, 2019|access-date=February 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205014712/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/us/politics/trump-inaugural-committee-subpoena.html|archive-date=February 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The subpoena reportedly covered allegations of [[Conspiracy against the United States|conspiracy to defraud the United States government]], [[money laundering]], [[Making false statements|false statements]], [[mail and wire fraud]], disclosure violations and prohibitions against contributions by foreign nations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/04/politics/sdny-subpoena-trump-inauguration-committee/index.html|title=Federal prosecutors subpoena Trump inaugural committee|first1=Erin|last1=Burnett|first2=Erica|last2=Orden|first3=Gloria|last3=Borger|first4=Caroline|last4=Kelly|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=February 4, 2019|access-date=February 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205005434/https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/04/politics/sdny-subpoena-trump-inauguration-committee/index.html|archive-date=February 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-prosecutors-issue-sweeping-subpoena-for-documents-from-trump-inaugural-committee-a-sign-of-a-deepening-criminal-probe/2019/02/04/b6382642-28e5-11e9-8eef-0d74f4bf0295_story.html|title=Federal prosecutors issue sweeping subpoena for documents from Trump inaugural committee, a sign of a deepening criminal probe|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 4, 2019|access-date=February 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205051749/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-prosecutors-issue-sweeping-subpoena-for-documents-from-trump-inaugural-committee-a-sign-of-a-deepening-criminal-probe/2019/02/04/b6382642-28e5-11e9-8eef-0d74f4bf0295_story.html|archive-date=February 5, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Investigations by New Jersey attorneys general ===
The attorney general of [[New Jersey Attorney General|New Jersey]] issued subpoenas for documents to the inaugural committee in February 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nj-attorney-general-subpoenas-trumps-inaugural-committee/2019/02/15/da642136-3166-11e9-8781-763619f12cb4_story.html|title=NJ attorney general subpoenas Trump's inaugural committee|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=February 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228130350/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/nj-attorney-general-subpoenas-trumps-inaugural-committee/2019/02/15/da642136-3166-11e9-8781-763619f12cb4_story.html|archive-date=February 28, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Trump's settlement with the D.C. Attorney General===
The office of [[Attorney General for the District of Columbia]] Karl Racine served a subpoena to the inaugural committee in February 2019 as part of an investigation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-inaugural-committee-hit-another-subpoena-n977431|title=Trump inaugural committee hit with another subpoena|website=[[NBC News]]|date=February 27, 2019 |access-date=February 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228100606/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-inaugural-committee-hit-another-subpoena-n977431|archive-date=February 28, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, the office sued the inaugural committee, accusing it of violating D.C. laws governing nonprofits by improperly paying more than $1 million to Trump International Hotel during inauguration week.<ref name=LiptonSettles>Eric Lipton, [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/us/politics/trump-hotel-lawsuit-settlement.html Trump Settles Suit Over Payments to Hotel for 2017 Inauguration], ''[[The New York Times]]'' (May 3, 2022).</ref> Racine said that the inaugural committee had paid in excess of market rates for the Trump hotel space as part of scheme to enrich the Trump family.<ref name=LiptonSettles/><ref name=DeposedDec2020>{{cite web |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Ivanka Trump deposed Tuesday as part of inauguration fund lawsuit |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ivanka-trump-deposed-tuesday-part-inauguration-fund-lawsuit-n1249801 |website=[[NBC News]] |date=December 3, 2020 |access-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205182229/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ivanka-trump-deposed-tuesday-part-inauguration-fund-lawsuit-n1249801 |url-status=live }}</ref> Records were subpoenaed from [[Ivanka Trump]], [[Melania Trump]], and Trump associate [[Thomas Barrack Jr.]]<ref name=DeposedDec2020/> Ivanka Trump gave five hours of deposition testimony in December 2020 as part of the suit.<ref name=DeposedDec2020/> In May 2020, Trump settled the lawsuit for $750,000; according to a lawyer for Trump's inaugural committee, half of the settlement payment was paid by the inaugural committee, and the other half by Trump family companies.<ref name=LiptonSettles/>