NY Attorney General hires corruption prosecutors to target Trump

On the same day that the FBI director confirmed the agency is investigating possible Russian interference in the presidential election, the New York attorney general said he has hired two special prosecutors to scrutinize the Trump administration.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman hired Howard McMaster from the office of former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara to investigate President Donald Trump’s businesses and his administration’s actions, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The office has also hiredEric Haren, who has worked on civil rights and constitutional law cases as chief counsel to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the New York Daily News reported.

Trump fired Bharara, after he refused to resign. He had been one of 46 U.S. attorneys who were asked to step down.

Interest mounted recently about Schneiderman’s next move against Trump, after having successfully sued Trump University, resulting ina $25 million settlement in favor of the plaintiffs that Trump had initially vowed would never happen.

Some former Trump University students are requesting a federal judgereject the settlement sothey can bring Trump to court.

In October, Schneiderman also pulled the plug on the Trump Foundation, which operated as a charity, after finding it wasn’t properly registered, and had been involved in dubious activities related to political donations and favors.

“Certainly, my office is looking at anything that’s passed on to us and doing our own research,” Schneiderman said last month at a meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.

Bharara’s office was reportedly investigatingHealth and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, related to stock trades he had made, Pro Publica reported Friday.

On Monday, FBI Director James Comey told a congressional hearing that the agency was investigating possible Russian government efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including any links between Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

The group Free Speech for People appealed to Schneiderman in February, asking him to revoke a business charter that allows the Trump Organization, the president’s business empire, to continue to operate in New York, indicating possible illegal activities.

Last week another letter to the attorney general asked him to investigate Trump Organization dealings in Azerbaijan that “may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” and U.S. sanctions against Iran.