Trump donor Elliott Broidy charged in illegal lobbying case

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Federal authorities have charged a major donor for President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign with one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, officials said.

Prosecutors said Thursday that Elliott Broidy, a venture capitalist, tried to exploit his ties to the Trump administration to aid interests in China and Malaysia. He's accused of taking $6 million to lobby Trump's administration to end an investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Berhad Fund, or 1MDB.

The wealthy businessman also sought the extradition of a Chinese citizen from the United States, prosecutors said.

The accusations are part of a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. Nickie Mali Lum Davis and George Higginbotham were also named in the court document and have already entered guilty pleas.

Davis pleaded guilty in federal court in Hawaii in August and Higginbotham entered his plea in 2018.

Along with being a major fundraiser for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Broidy was the Republican National Committee's finance chairman from 2017 to 2018. He also donated to the House campaigns of Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Darrell Issa of California and Jeff Denham of North Carolina.