Federal prosecutors are investigating potential marketing campaign finance violations in reference to an undercover operation primarily based in Wyoming that aimed to infiltrate progressive teams, political campaigns and the places of work of elected representatives earlier than the 2020 election, in keeping with two individuals accustomed to the matter and paperwork associated to the case.

As a part of the operation, revealed in 2021 by The New York Times, individuals used massive marketing campaign donations and canopy tales to realize entry to their targets and collect filth to sabotage the reputations of individuals and organizations thought-about threats to the agenda of President Donald J. Trump.

In latest days, prosecutors have issued subpoenas for a minimum of two of the individuals The Times recognized as being a part of the operation, together with Richard Seddon, a former British spy, and Susan Gore, a Wyoming heiress to the Gore-Tex fortune, the individuals mentioned. The subpoenas have been reported earlier by CNN.

According to one of many subpoenas reviewed by The Times, prosecutors and F.B.I. brokers in Washington are looking for a trove of data associated to the political spying operation, together with paperwork associated to Mr. Seddon’s agency, Branch Six Consulting International, together with a minimum of two different entities registered in his title.

Prosecutors additionally sought communications, paperwork or monetary data tied to Erik Prince, the worldwide safety guide, in addition to former operatives who labored for the conservative group Project Veritas and its founder. Mr. Prince and Mr. Seddon are longtime associates.

The operatives working for Mr. Seddon made a number of massive political donations — together with $20,000 to the Democratic National Committee, which gained them entree to a Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas in 2020. They additionally made donations to the election campaigns of Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona; Colorado’s secretary of state, Jena Griswold; in addition to to the Wyoming Democratic Party.

Drew Godinich, a spokesman for Ms. Griswold, mentioned she returned that donation.

Mr. Seddon used cash from Ms. Gore to fund the operation. Ms. Gore has mentioned publicly that she was not conscious her cash was getting used for sabotage operations. Robert Driscoll, a lawyer for Mr. Seddon, declined to remark. Nicholas Gravante, a Manhattan lawyer for Ms. Gore who represents many high-profile purchasers, additionally declined to remark.

It isn’t clear if the operatives who made the donations — Beau Maier and Sofia LaRocca — did it at somebody’s behest and have been reimbursed. Both have been named within the subpoena reviewed by The Times. It can be unclear whether or not the couple had been subpoenaed or have been cooperating with federal authorities.

The F.B.I. declined to remark.

Mr. Seddon carefully managed the 2 operatives, who filed weekly intelligence experiences to him about their actions and targets, in keeping with an individual with direct information of the operation who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate the key particulars.

Under federal regulation, it’s unlawful to make marketing campaign donations on the behest of one other individual and be reimbursed for them. So-called straw donations have been central to a number of federal investigations.

According to interviews and paperwork obtained by The Times, the operation started in 2018, when Mr. Seddon persuaded a number of former workers of Project Veritas — the conservative group that conducts undercover sting operations — to maneuver to Wyoming and take part in his new enterprise.

Mr. Seddon, who on the time was working for Ms. Gore, needed to arrange espionage operations during which undercover brokers would infiltrate progressive teams and the places of work of elected officers, and probably recruit others to assist accumulate info.

It is unclear how a lot info Mr. Seddon’s operatives gathered, or what else the operation achieved. But its use {of professional} intelligence-gathering methods to attempt to manipulate the politics of a number of states confirmed a better sophistication than extra conventional political “dirty tricks” operations.

It additionally confirmed a degree of paranoia in some ultraconservative Republican circles that the electoral map within the United States may be altering to their drawback. Specifically, there was a priority that even a bedrock Republican state like Wyoming might regularly flip towards the Democrats, as close by Colorado and Arizona had.

Republicans have sought to put in allies in numerous positions on the state degree to realize a bonus on the electoral map. Secretaries of state, for instance, play a crucial role in certifying election outcomes each two years, and some became targets of Mr. Trump and his allies of their efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

One goal of the spying ring was Karlee Provenza, a police reform advocate who received a seat within the Wyoming Legislature representing one of some Democratic districts within the state. Ms. Provenza mentioned she was heartened that federal authorities had not ignored the episode, whereas Wyoming officers haven’t acted.

“I am glad to see that the Justice Department is investigating efforts to try to dismantle democracy in Wyoming,” she mentioned. “The actions of Susan Gore and the people she supports have been unchecked since this spying operation was revealed.”

In 2017, Mr. Seddon was recruited to hitch Project Veritas by Mr. Prince, the previous head of Blackwater Worldwide and brother of Betsy DeVos, who was Mr. Trump’s schooling secretary on the time. According to individuals with information of Mr. Prince’s position, he believed Mr. Seddon might flip Project Veritas right into a extra skilled intelligence-gathering operation.

Soon afterward, Mr. Seddon was engineering an effort to discredit perceived enemies of Mr. Trump contained in the U.S. authorities, together with a deliberate sting operation in 2018 in opposition to Mr. Trump’s nationwide safety adviser on the time, H.R. McMaster. He additionally helped arrange operations to secretly document F.B.I. workers and different authorities officers.