Now let's get more details on this Bloomberg exclusive. It's the focus of today's Bloomberg lobraref exploring legal issues in the news and Bloomberg Lajos Greg's store and June Grasso speak with the Bloomberg News reporter Christian Berthelson, who broke the story. Give us a sense of just how broad this investigation into Donald Trump's business dealings seems to be.
Based on your reporting. Robert Mueller was just appointed a little about two months ago to take over the US inquiry into whether Russia meddled in the presidential election, and they're still gathering a lot of various sort of strains of inquiry into the president's relationship with Russia and Eastern European businesses in general. UM. As part of that, what they're looking at are sort of the origins of Trump's
relationship with Russia and other countries in Eastern Europe. Uh, probably to sort of give them a a base from which to go forward in understanding uh, the other more reinteractions and whether any of them wood to law. Christian, in your story, according to someone familiar with the developing inquiry but not authorized to speak publicly, you say the roots of Muller's investigation lie in a wide ranging money laundering probe launched by former Manhattan US Attorney pre Berrara
last year. Tell us about that part of it. The US Turns Office in New York, under Mr Barrara, initiated an investigation into Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort, looking at money laundering issues in several different transactions. You know. Mr Barra was fired in March, along with forty five other U S attorneys around the country who were Obama administration and pointees, and that inquiry was then sort of absorbed
into Mr Mueller's Russia investigation. He was appointed Christian. In the interview with The New York Times, the President said that if Mueller starts looking into business dealings that are not connected to Russia, that would be a red line for him. Is everything that you've learned about this investigation connected to Russia in one we or another. Yeah, definitely. That seems to be, uh, the sort of unifying link
between all of it. If you look at the letter that Rod Rosenstein wrote to a point Mr Mueller, it's a fairly broad mandate in there. I mean, you know, obviously it talks about investigating Russian manipulation of the US election last year. But there's also sort of catch all language that basically allows the investigation to go wherever it
logically should. But you're right, I mean, Trump's comments to The New York Times appeared throw down this gauntlet where he's saying, a certain level of Russia inquiry is fine, but if you start going into my business dealing sets off limits, which sort of raises a question of whether where this is ultimately going to end in some kind of standoff something between them and Christian As far as Jared Kushner, where does the investigation there go, because there
was also some questions about the twenty billion dollar investment in the black Stone Group, which has ties the Christian family has tied to, shortly after he negotiated the arm sale to Saudi Arabia. So is it going that far? We don't know. We we have not heard from our sources if that is a part of it. But you know, definitely financing of Kushner developments is part of the inquiry as well as sort of more back in the main about you know, Kushner's contacts with Russians that he first
did not disclose. Uh, in uh in all of his ethics forms and such. This is just one avenue that Robert muller is is pursuing, right, What else is he looking at? More broadly, all the sort of financial transactions and business dealings are only one part of of what sounds like a very sort of wide ranging and possibly definitive examination of all things related to Russia and the
election last year. As Bloomberg News reporter Christian Berthelsen speaking with the Bloomberg La host Gregg Store and Jim Grasso, you can listen to Bloomberg Law week days at one pm Wall Street Time here on Bloomberg Radio Now. Among the top legal stories from Bloomberg Law, it's a battle involving two of President Trump's most prominent cabinet members. X On Mobile is going to court challenge a two million dollar fine imposed by the Treasury Department for violating Russian sanctions.
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that's this morning's Bloomberg Labbrary. If you can find more legal news at Bloomberg Law dot com and Bloomberg b n A dot com. Attorneys will find exceptional legal research and business development tools there as well. Visit Bloomberg Law dot com and Bloomberg b NA dot com for more information