FBI releases Trump-related files before inauguration

 The FBI has released a batch of files related to Donald Trump that had been sought through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The files, released shortly before Trump's inauguration, came in response to requests for information on Trump Shuttle and the Trump Taj Mahal, the billionaire's now-closed Atlantic City casino.

In the new release involving Trump, there is also a list of all the FOIA requests filed to the FBI containing the word "Trump," which include many of his businesses. The results or full texts of any of those requests are not available.


The brief documents contain no substantial information about Trump or his businesses.

During the election, critics had alleged that the FBI was attempting to intervene in the election when it released documents about the Clinton family and files on the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server.

The documents appeared on an area of the FBI website called "The Vault," where highly requested open records requests are housed.

It can take months or years for items to appear in The Vault, but the FBI was under scrutiny for unexpectedly releasing documents related to the Clinton Foundation on the site only days before the election.

Those documents detailed the FBI investigation into the pardon by President Bill Clinton of billionaire fugitive Marc Rich, whose wife had donated to Hillary Clinton's campaign for Senate and the Bill Clinton Presidential Library. The investigation was closed in 2005 with no charges.

In the 16-page file involving the Trump Shuttle - an airline owned by Trump from 1989 to 1992 - the FBI reportedly looked into the theft of an electrical hydraulic pump.

The pump, stolen by "unknown subject(s)" in the early morning hours of July 30 1990, was valued at $30,000 to $50,000, according to the FBI report from the time.

A maintenance foreman had been sent to repair a leak coming from a "b-pump" on the Trump Shuttle located at the American Airlines terminal at Philadelphia International Airport.

While staying at a Days Inn near the airport, the foreman's car, which contained a spare pump, was stolen from the parking lot. Although the car was recovered a day later by the Philadelphia Police Department, the pump was missing. The FBI had no other leads to help track down the airline equipment.

In the four-page FBI report about a theft at the Taj Mahal casino and hotel in 1998, it details copies of VHS tapes. While the report doesn't explain what the tapes contained, it appears as if they were used to track down the subject of the theft because the documents mention "video prints ... of pertinent images."

There are no details about any other parts of the investigation, including what was taken and if the case had been closed.

On Oct. 8 - one month before the 2016 presidential election - the FBI put a file on Fred Trump, the president elect's father, in The Vault. Those documents also did not contain much material information.

Around the same time, a Twitter account for the FBI tweeted out links to 20 other files from The Vault, including documents about the bureau's investigation into Clinton's email server.

The account had otherwise been dark since October 2015. 

Source: MSN News