Mueller investigated links between US and Egypt after $10mn campaign donation

A new report has revealed that former Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated links between the US and Egypt after $10 million was injected into the Trump presidential campaign 11 days before the 2016 election.

The cheque, which Trump wrote for the campaign, was his largest political contribution on record.

Initial investigations into the president hoped to answer whether or not Trump’s presidential campaign was supported by a foreign power, or if he was indebted to one, initially focusing on the Russian government interference in the 2016 elections

An informant told investigators of another case of foreign influence on the campaign, that money from an Egyptian bank backed a last minute $10 million deposit into the campaign.

Intelligence said there was money in the Egyptian bank which could be connected to the donation he made, according to CNN.

READ: Egypt businessmen asked for EGP 2mn to support pro-Sisi protests

The three-year investigation into whether Trump received an illegal foreign campaign contribution locked down a floor at a Washington courthouse so that Egypt’s bank records could be accessed and reached the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.

The probe also looked into whether Trump’s foreign policy advisor Walid Phares was secretly working for the Egyptian government to influence the incoming administration.

In 2016 Phares told Ivanka Trump in an email that he had arranged a meeting between Trump and Sisi that September: “Great that the meeting will take place tomorrow. This is a major victory in foreign policy. It will generate more votes.”

Sisi and Trump met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly towards the end of 2016 presidential campaign. The close relations between the two has been documented, with Trump calling Sisi his “favourite dictator.”

Sisi was the first leader to congratulate Trump on winning the election.

Mueller has been criticised for not taking bold enough action to access Trump’s finances, whilst the counsel himself has said he suspected he would be fired if he did.