Washington — Since the 2020 election day, Donald J. Trump and his close allies have 300 million through aggressive funding solicitations that promise bold political action, including a fight to overturn the defeat of his reelection campaign. Raised more than $ 90 million to help ally candidates win their victory Fighting campaigns “to save America from Joe Biden and the radical left.”
However, in reality, most of the money spent by Mr. Trump’s political committee is the payment of election costs in 2020 and the strengthening of political activities in anticipation of the 2024 presidential election. Indicates that it was directed to. As of a few months ago, $ 144 million was left in the bank.
The House Committee, investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol, is trying to reverse one particular line of Mr. Trump’s misleading funding call: his loss in the 2020 elections. It suggests that there may be criminal exposure to what encourages supporters to donate to their efforts.
At a hearing on Monday, the panel emphasized a funding solicitation sent by Mr. Trump’s election committee in the weeks following the election, claiming it would be used to fight what the Trump team claimed. There was a rampant fraudulent vote in favor of candidate Joseph R. Byden Jr. without evidence of a donation to the Defense Fund.
“The Special Committee has discovered that such a fund does not exist,” a Commission investigator said in a video presented at the hearing. It funded it as a marketing gimmick used to offend Mr. Trump’s supporters.
According to the committee, it was a particularly cynical endeavor. Because Mr. Trump and his allies knew that his claim in the stolen election was false. Nevertheless, they continued to use the fundraising appeal to spread the falsehood and raise the funds proposed by the Commission, paid to Mr. Trump’s business and a group run by his allies.
Democrat Zoe Lofgren, who led the committee’s presentation on Mr. Trump’s funding, said his allies would continue to take a futile legal challenge to the elections as funding needs to be justified. Suggested.
Confirm the theme of the January 6 House Committee hearing
After the hearing, she said it was a crime for the Justice Department to ask Mr. Trump to “intentionally mislead the donor and donate to a non-existent fund and use the money raised for other purposes.” I need to evaluate it. ” What he said. “
Election funding experts expressed various views on the possibility of prosecution.
Misunderstanding funding claims are a staple of modern politics, but the Justice Ministry in recent years Charged Number of operator So-called Scam-PAC — A political commissar that raises funds primarily to pay the consultants who run them. These groups were usually unrelated to the candidates, not to mention the former president.
Experts said Mr. Trump’s funding investigation was likely to target his aides, not the former president himself.
And they were the Republican National Committee, where the Trump Make America Great Again Commission, the campaign committee that sent most of the solicitations for the Election Defense Fund, spent money on the legal struggle related to the 2020 elections. He pointed out that he had transferred the funds to.
“In contrast to some of these other fraudulent PAC prosecutions, none of the funds raised were used to meet the donor’s intent, Trump collected during the post-election period. You might argue that some of the money was spent in the proceedings and some of the additional money was directed to the future. The “Election Perfection” initiative, “said Watchdog Group Documented’s Election Funding Expert. One Brendan Fischer said.
“While it’s certainly novel for the Justice Department to pursue a fraudulent case against the former president’s PAC, it was also novel for Trump’s post-election fraudulent financing,” Fisher said. Added the amount raised. The election was “totally unprecedented.”
Stephen Spaulding, an employee of the good government group Common Cause, who advised Lofgren on election law issues in 2020, said the Justice Department should investigate whether misleading funding “crossed the line for wire fraud.” Stated.
A January 6 panel video on the matter claimed that “the allegations that the election was stolen were so successful that President Trump and his allies raised $ 250 million.”
It was not entirely clear how the Commission reached the $ 250 million figure. It’s about the amount of Mr. Trump’s campaign committee and RNC. I grew up more than 8 weeks after the November 3 electionsThe digital platform used by Republicans to process online donations, according to the Campaign Finance Declaration from WinRed.
However, Mr. Trump’s campaign committee sent hundreds of solicitations during that enthusiastic period. Many did not mention the Election Defense Fund. Also, there is no public data showing how much money a particular funding solicitation has generated.
On the panel on January 6th Recording subpoenas from Salesforce.com, Vendors who helped Trump Campaign and RNC send emails. This may give you some idea of the amount raised from individual funding solicitations.
The New York Times analysis of Mr. Trump’s funding for the 19 months since the election relies on data submitted to the Federal Election Commission by WinRed and other groups to assess the sums collected by the eight committees. I am. They included Mr. Trump’s three campaign committees, one of which was converted to a political action committee. It has become a major hub of his ongoing political activities.Analysis does not include RNC
On Monday, the January 6 panel noted that instead of funding election-related proceedings, “most of the money raised” was transferred to Save America after the election. The Commission said the PAC “donated millions of dollars to the Protrump organization.” This includes more than $ 200,000 to the Trump Hotel facilities, $ 1 million each to the America First Policy Institute and the Conservative Partnership Institute, and nonprofits are partly former employees of Mr. Trump’s administration.
In both of these groups, Supports stricter voting rules This is generally in line with Mr. Trump’s unfounded allegations about fraudulent voting in the 2020 elections.
For the Conservative Partnership Institute Election integrity network led by Creta MitchellThe lawyer who was on 1 hour call With Georgia officials and Mr. Trump when the then president pressured them to “find” enough votes to flip the results.
The America First Policy Institute, founded last year to act as a think tank for Trump supporters, Waiting Trump administration.. He also pays to host events with Mr. Trump at his private clubs, such as Mar-a-Lago in South Florida and Bedminster in New Jersey.
Mr. Lofgren, Interview with CNN After the hearing, he claimed that Trump’s funding efforts were a “gap,” citing the compensation Kimberly Guilfoyre received. Helped lead the fundraiser For Mr. Trump’s campaign and post-election political commissar, she made a statement introducing her fiancé, Donald Trump Jr., at a Trump rally on January 6, prior to the attack on the Capitol.
According to the invoice viewed by the Times, $ 60,000 was paid for “Keynotes by Kimberly Guilfoy and Donald Trump Jr.” He assisted Mr. Trump with a Turning Point Action, but it is not included in what is run by Mr. Trump’s close associates and is not included in the Times funding analysis.
A person familiar with Donald Trump Jr.’s panel deposit said the former president’s son had paid the money to Mr Gilfoil, but he had not received it.
A recent solicitation for donations from Mr. Trump’s political activities is to support Mr. Trump without promising specific spending goals, such as Donald Trump Jr. asking for donations to celebrate his father’s birthday on Tuesday. Often depends on the complaint.
Luke Broadwater contributed to the report. Andrew Fischer and Bea Malsky contributed to the research.
