Trump donor charged with obstructing inauguration inquiry

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a major donor to President Donald Trump's inaugural committee with obstructing a federal investigation into whether foreign nationals unlawfully contributed to the inaugural celebrations.

The donor, Imaad Zuberi, recently pleaded guilty in a separate case in Los Angeles to campaign finance violations, tax evasion and failing to register as a foreign agent.

A criminal information filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court accuses Zuberi, a globe-trotting Los Angeles venture capitalist, of taking numerous steps to interfere with the investigation into where the inaugural committee received its funding. Prosecutors say Zuberi backdated a $50,000 check and also deleted emails.

Zuberi's defense attorney, Tom O'Brien, declined to comment.

Zuberi, a prolific fundraiser who has also donated large sums to Democrats, gave $900,000 to Trump's inaugural committee in the months after the president's 2016 election.

The criminal complaint says that donation was in fact funded using money obtained from other sources," including a would-be inaugural donor