US Justice Department launches probes into Soros foundations across states

A senior Justice Department official has directed prosecutors in at least six states to investigate the activities of billionaire George Soros’s foundations, The New York Times reported, citing an internal order.

The directive, dated Sept. 22, was sent to prosecutors in California, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Detroit and Maryland, urging them to examine potential charges including racketeering, arson, wire fraud and material support for terrorism.

The move followed a report by the conservative Capital Research Center, which claimed Soros-linked groups allocated more than $80 million to organizations tied to extremism or violence.

Soros, 95, founded the Open Society Foundations. Together with his son Alex, now chairman of the foundations, he backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. President Donald Trump in August called for investigations into Soros and his family.