WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is working on the case of former Russian Press Minister Mikhail Lesin’s death together with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington DC, the White House said.
"This is a death that is still under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC, where this death occurred. I understand that the FBI is involved as well. But I don’t have any information about this ongoing investigation," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Friday.
Lesin was found dead in a Washington DC hotel on November 5, 2015. According to a coroner' report released publicly on Thursday, he died as a result of blunt force trauma to his head. The report contradicts earlier information given to Lesin’s family, stating that he had suffered a heart attack.
The MPD is in charge of the investigation. According to US Department of State spokesman John Kirby, the MPD has a direct line of communication with the Russian government to discuss the investigation into Lesin’s death.
The MPD told Sputnik on Friday they had not ruled out the possibility of investigating the case as a murder.