WEBVTT - Bloomberg Law Brief: Mueller Expands Investigation (Audio)

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<v Speaker 1>Now let's get more details on this Bloomberg exclusive. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the focus of today's Bloomberg lobraref exploring legal issues in

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<v Speaker 1>the news and Bloomberg Lajos Greg's store and June Grasso

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<v Speaker 1>speak with the Bloomberg News reporter Christian Berthelson, who broke

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<v Speaker 1>the story. Give us a sense of just how broad

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<v Speaker 1>this investigation into Donald Trump's business dealings seems to be.

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<v Speaker 1>Based on your reporting. Robert Mueller was just appointed a

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<v Speaker 1>little about two months ago to take over the US

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<v Speaker 1>inquiry into whether Russia meddled in the presidential election, and

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<v Speaker 1>they're still gathering a lot of various sort of strains

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<v Speaker 1>of inquiry into the president's relationship with Russia and Eastern

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<v Speaker 1>European businesses in general. UM. As part of that, what

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<v Speaker 1>they're looking at are sort of the origins of Trump's

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<v Speaker 1>relationship with Russia and other countries in Eastern Europe. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>probably to sort of give them a a base from

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<v Speaker 1>which to go forward in understanding uh, the other more

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<v Speaker 1>reinteractions and whether any of them wood to law. Christian,

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<v Speaker 1>in your story, according to someone familiar with the developing

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<v Speaker 1>inquiry but not authorized to speak publicly, you say the

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<v Speaker 1>roots of Muller's investigation lie in a wide ranging money

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<v Speaker 1>laundering probe launched by former Manhattan US Attorney pre Berrara

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<v Speaker 1>last year. Tell us about that part of it. The

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<v Speaker 1>US Turns Office in New York, under Mr Barrara, initiated

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<v Speaker 1>an investigation into Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort, looking at

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<v Speaker 1>money laundering issues in several different transactions. You know. Mr

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<v Speaker 1>Barra was fired in March, along with forty five other

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<v Speaker 1>U S attorneys around the country who were Obama administration

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<v Speaker 1>and pointees, and that inquiry was then sort of absorbed

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<v Speaker 1>into Mr Mueller's Russia investigation. He was appointed Christian. In

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<v Speaker 1>the interview with The New York Times, the President said

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<v Speaker 1>that if Mueller starts looking into business dealings that are

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<v Speaker 1>not connected to Russia, that would be a red line

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<v Speaker 1>for him. Is everything that you've learned about this investigation

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<v Speaker 1>connected to Russia in one we or another. Yeah, definitely.

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<v Speaker 1>That seems to be, uh, the sort of unifying link

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<v Speaker 1>between all of it. If you look at the letter

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<v Speaker 1>that Rod Rosenstein wrote to a point Mr Mueller, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a fairly broad mandate in there. I mean, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>obviously it talks about investigating Russian manipulation of the US

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<v Speaker 1>election last year. But there's also sort of catch all

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<v Speaker 1>language that basically allows the investigation to go wherever it

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<v Speaker 1>logically should. But you're right, I mean, Trump's comments to

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<v Speaker 1>The New York Times appeared throw down this gauntlet where

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<v Speaker 1>he's saying, a certain level of Russia inquiry is fine,

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<v Speaker 1>but if you start going into my business dealing sets

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<v Speaker 1>off limits, which sort of raises a question of whether

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<v Speaker 1>where this is ultimately going to end in some kind

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<v Speaker 1>of standoff something between them and Christian As far as

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<v Speaker 1>Jared Kushner, where does the investigation there go, because there

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<v Speaker 1>was also some questions about the twenty billion dollar investment

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<v Speaker 1>in the black Stone Group, which has ties the Christian

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<v Speaker 1>family has tied to, shortly after he negotiated the arm

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<v Speaker 1>sale to Saudi Arabia. So is it going that far?

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<v Speaker 1>We don't know. We we have not heard from our

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<v Speaker 1>sources if that is a part of it. But you know,

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<v Speaker 1>definitely financing of Kushner developments is part of the inquiry

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<v Speaker 1>as well as sort of more back in the main

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<v Speaker 1>about you know, Kushner's contacts with Russians that he first

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<v Speaker 1>did not disclose. Uh, in uh in all of his

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<v Speaker 1>ethics forms and such. This is just one avenue that

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<v Speaker 1>Robert muller is is pursuing, right, What else is he

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<v Speaker 1>looking at? More broadly, all the sort of financial transactions

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<v Speaker 1>and business dealings are only one part of of what

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<v Speaker 1>sounds like a very sort of wide ranging and possibly

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<v Speaker 1>definitive examination of all things related to Russia and the

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<v Speaker 1>election last year. As Bloomberg News reporter Christian Berthelsen speaking

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<v Speaker 1>with the Bloomberg La host Gregg Store and Jim Grasso,

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<v Speaker 1>you can listen to Bloomberg Law week days at one

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<v Speaker 1>pm Wall Street Time here on Bloomberg Radio Now. Among

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<v Speaker 1>the top legal stories from Bloomberg Law, it's a battle

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<v Speaker 1>involving two of President Trump's most prominent cabinet members. X

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<v Speaker 1>On Mobile is going to court challenge a two million

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<v Speaker 1>dollar fine imposed by the Treasury Department for violating Russian sanctions.

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<v Speaker 1>The alleged violation happened while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

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<v Speaker 1>was excens CEO. Exxon's complaint names Treasury Secretary Steve Manuchin

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<v Speaker 1>as the lead defendant. There'll be a big payday for

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<v Speaker 1>two whistle blowers in a case involving JP Morgan, they'll

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<v Speaker 1>share a record sixty one million in dollar award. The

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<v Speaker 1>SEC says they helped make the case that JP Morgan

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<v Speaker 1>didn't tell wealthy clients it was steering them into investments

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<v Speaker 1>that would be most profitable for the bank. Two former

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<v Speaker 1>Deutsche Bank traders have new ammunition and they're fight against

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<v Speaker 1>federal charges that they rigged interest rates. Matthew Connolly and

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<v Speaker 1>Gavin Black have asked the judge in New York to

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<v Speaker 1>dismiss the charges. A point to an appeal scored ruling

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<v Speaker 1>this week involving former Rabble Bank traders. That ruling makes

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<v Speaker 1>it harder for prosecutors to prove cross border crimes. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's this morning's Bloomberg Labbrary. If you can find more

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<v Speaker 1>legal news at Bloomberg Law dot com and Bloomberg b

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<v Speaker 1>and business development tools there as well. Visit Bloomberg Law

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<v Speaker 1>information