Broidy was charged in federal district court in Washington.
Elliott Broidy, a GOP fundraiser who served as deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, was charged by the Justice Department for his role in a covert scheme to lobby the Justice Department and Trump administration on behalf of undisclosed foreign entities. The charges against Broidy were detailed in a criminal information filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. According to court filings, Broidy, with two others, agreed to work as agents for an unidentified foreign national from March 2017 to at least January 2018 for millions of dollars, an arrangement that was not disclosed to the federal government, as required by the law. Federal prosecutors allege Broidy and his associates sought to «orchestrate back-channel, unregistered campaigns to lobby the administration and DOJ» on two issues. He is charged with conspiracy to serve as an unregistered foreign agent. A spokesperson with the Republican National Committee said in a statement the party severed ties with Broidy long ago. «Elliot Broidy hasn’t volunteered for the Party in over two years, and we had no knowledge of any wrongdoing,» the spokesperson said. «He was asked to leave after serious ethical questions were raised, and he has not been involved in any Party operations since.» The Justice Department alleges Broidy sought to convince it to drop matters involving the unidentified foreign national for his role in the multi-billion-dollar embezzlement from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a development and investment company owned by the Malaysian government.
