Ex-Trump Fundraiser Broidy Pleads Guilty to Illegal Lobbying
- Broidy admits plot to squelch U.S. probe into 1MDB scandal
- Goldman Sachs nearing $2 billion criminal accord over 1MDB
Photographer: Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock
Elliott Broidy, once a top Republican fundraiser, pleaded guilty to illegally lobbying President Donald Trump’s administration to help a Malaysian businessman end a federal investigation into the 1MDB scandal and to seek the extradition of a Chinese dissident from the U.S.
Broidy’s plea Tuesday in federal court in Washington came ahead of an expected criminal settlement with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The bank has agreed to pay more than $2 billion for its role in helping the 1MDB Malaysian development fund raise billions of dollars, according to people familiar with the matter. Much of that money was later illegally diverted. The bank’s deal with the U.S. Justice Department, which could be announced as early as this week, would allow the parent company to avoid a conviction, the people said.