Secret US probe unveils alleged $10m Egyptian contribution to Trump

A clandestine U.S. criminal investigation has surfaced, revealing allegations that Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, attempted to funnel $10 million to Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. The details of the probe were first reported by The Washington Post.

The inquiry reportedly centers on an Egypt-linked group that withdrew the substantial sum just days before Trump’s inauguration. This group allegedly withdrew $10 million from a Cairo bank five days before the inauguration, with four men transporting two large bags filled with $100 bills out of the National Bank of Egypt.

U.S. officials described the bags in sealed court documents as weighing 200 pounds and containing a significant portion of Egypt’s U.S. currency reserves.

According to U.S. federal investigators, the transaction came to their attention in 2019, two years into an investigation spurred by CIA intelligence that suggested Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi intended to give Trump $10 million. Such a contribution could potentially breach federal laws on foreign donations.

Despite the gravity of these allegations, a spokesperson for Trump dismissed them as baseless. Steven Cheung told The Washington Post, “The investigation referenced found no wrongdoing and was closed,” adding, “None of the allegations or insinuations being reported on have any basis in fact. The Washington Post is consistently misled by Deep State Trump-haters and bad faith actors promoting hoaxes and shams.”

The case was closed without charges by a prosecutor appointed by William Barr, Trump’s second attorney general. Michael Sherwin, the prosecutor who made the decision, has defended his choice.

The news comes at a tumultuous time for Trump, who is currently campaigning for the presidency again. This report follows the recent bribery conviction of Democratic Senator Robert Menendez from New Jersey, who was found guilty of receiving gold bars and cash from Egyptian sources.

During Trump’s presidency, he often praised Sisi, despite bipartisan concerns in the U.S. over Sisi’s authoritarian rule. Trump’s 2016 campaign chair, Steve Bannon, has also been linked to reports suggesting that the $10 million could have influenced Trump’s decision to inject an equivalent sum of his own money into his campaign during its final days.

A secretive 2018 hearing in a Washington D.C. courthouse, involving prosecutors from Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, also reportedly centered on an Egyptian bank.

When approached for comments, the Justice Department, the U.S. attorney in Washington D.C., and the FBI all declined to comment. An Egyptian government spokesperson also refrained from answering The Washington Post’s questions.

An anonymous government source expressed concern about the case’s closure, stating, “Every American should be concerned about how this case ended. The Justice Department is supposed to follow evidence wherever it leads – it does so all the time to determine if a crime occurred or not.”