Inauguration of Donald Trump

=== 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>