DIGGING FOR DIRT

FBI Raids Home of Lobbyist Who Claimed to Have Trump Ties: WaPo

The offices of Michael Esposito’s firm, Federal Advocates, were also reportedly raided.

The home of a lobbyist who claimed to have close ties to President Trump and his inner circle was raided by the FBI Thursday morning on the suspicion of fraud, The Washington Post reports. The Virginia home of Michael Esposito was raided at around 7 a.m., and agents reportedly didn’t leave for several hours. Esposito’s lobbying firm, Federal Advocates, was also reportedly subject to search by authorities. The agency reportedly started investigating Esposito to see whether he defrauded clients—which include Chinese tech company Huawei and the city of Polk County, Iowa—or engaged in other financial fraud. While Esposito has touted his connections with Trump and those around him, the president himself denied such claims. “I don’t know, to the best of my knowledge, a man named Michael Esposit0,” Trump tweeted. “I don’t like him using my name to build his consulting company, or whatever.” Esposito has not commented publicly on the matter, and the FBI declined to comment.