One of six vice-chairs of the “Trump Victory Leadership Team,” a joint fundraising effort announced Tuesday by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, pleaded guilty in 2009 to criminal charges involving bribes paid to top New York State officials. Elliott Broidy, a Los Angeles venture capitalist, was charged with showering nearly $1 million in gifts and favors on state officials as part of a scheme to win more than $250 million in state pension investments for the venture capital firm he then headed, Markstone Capital. Sean Spicer, the RNC’s communications director, dismissed questions about Broidy’s background, comparing it to that of New York investment figure Steve Rattner, a top Democratic moneyman who held a recent fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and was caught up in the same “pay for play” scandal.
