Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team of investigators interviewed a Russian billionaire earlier this year, according to a New York Times report.
Investigators stopped the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg at a New York-area airport after he stepped off a private plane, according to the Times. They proceeded to search his electronic devices and question him.
There is no indication that Vekselberg is suspected of wrongdoing. But the search and interview suggests that Mueller’s team is homing in on the Trump campaign and inauguration committee’s potential ties with Russians.
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Vekselberg attended President Trump’s inauguration in January 2017. His ticket to the event was given to him by his cousin Andrew Intrater, an American businessman who donated to Trump’s inauguration, the Times reported.
Vekselberg was also present at a 2015 dinner in Russia that was attended by former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, stepped down shortly after taking office after it was revealed that he lied to Vice President Pence and other officials about his interactions with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Vekselberg was among several Russian individuals and entities that were hit with U.S. sanctions last month in response to what U.S. officials said were Moscow’s broad destabilizing activities.
Mueller’s team is investigating Russia’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Moscow.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing on his part or on the part of his campaign associates, and has called Mueller’s probe a “hoax” and a “witch hunt.”