Bannon group in 2015 shopped document tying Trump to mobsters: report
A conservative group led by Stephen Bannon reportedly shopped around a document in 2015 linking President Trump to mobsters in an attempt to undermine his campaign, CNN reported Monday.
The opposition research was developed by the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), which Bannon co-founded with Peter Schweitzer in 2012.
{mosads}The document reportedly details years of alleged deals between Trump companies and figures in organized crime.
“We research political figures from all political parties and our basic premise is follow the money. That’s what guides our research approach,” Schweizer told CNN.
The New York Times first reported about the document on Friday.
GAI is also backed by prominent GOP mega-donors the Mercer family, and Rebekah Mercer is listed as the group’s chairwoman on its site.
Bannon was backing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the GOP primary at the time. Cruz mentioned Trump’s ties to organized crime as a reason Trump should release his tax returns during the campaign.
Bannon declined CNN’s request for comment.
Trump slammed Bannon as having “lost his mind” after comments Bannon made about Donald Trump Jr. in a book about Trump’s White House first emerged.
Bannon is quoted in Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” as calling Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer “treasonous.”
“They’re going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV,” Bannon said.
Bannon released a statement calling Trump Jr. a “patriot” and a “good man” on Sunday.
However, the White House rejected Bannon’s apology on Monday.
“I just don’t think there’s any way back at this point,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters.
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