News

Trump’s Post-Election Fund-Raising Comes Under Scrutiny by Justice Dept.


A federal grand jury in Washington is examining the formation – and spending of – a PAC created by Donald J. Trump following his defeat in the 2020 election when he raised millions of dollars in way of asserting unfoundedly that the outcome was undermined by fraudulent widespread voting.

According to the subpoena issued by the grand jury, the contents of which were described to The New York Times, the Justice Department was interested in the inner workings of Save America PAC, Mr. Trump’s primary means of fundraising. after the election. Several similar subpoenas were sent Wednesday to junior and mid-level aides who work in the White House and for Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.

Save America’s new focus is on previously reported by ABC News.

Among about half a dozen current and former Trump aides in the White House and the 2020 presidential campaign who are believed to have received subpoenas this week is Beau Harrison, one of his aides. Trump in the White House and during his presidency, and William S. Russellwho worked in the West Wing and is now Trump’s personal office, according to several people familiar with the events.

Mr. Harrison’s attorney declined to comment. An attorney for Mr. Russell did not respond to messages seeking comment.

The fact that federal prosecutors are seeking information about the Save America PAC is an important new turning point in the already extensive investigation into the role of Mr. Trump and some of his allies in trying to overturn. election, a series of efforts that culminated in a violent mob attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Parts of the January 6 investigation involving Mr Trump so far have mainly focused on planning create groups of electors committed to him in seven key swing states that Joseph R. Biden Jr. won.

The new subpoenas appear to have been issued by a Washington grand jury that is different from the one that is gathering evidence of so-called fake voter planning, focusing on questions surrounding it. pro-Trump attorneys such as Rudolph W. Giuliani and John Eastman.

At least one of the new subpoenas has the name of a veteran federal prosecutor in Washington who specializes in fraud investigations, suggesting that the method of investigation is primarily intended to examine spending. and raise funds at Mr. Trump’s PAC.

It also sought contact with multiple people, many of whom have been listed on other subpoenas, focusing on different aspects of Mr. Trump’s post-election effort to stay in power. At least one of the new subpoenas sought any contact with Bruce Marks, an attorney in Pennsylvania who attempted to challenge the outcome of the election there.

At a hearing held in June by the House of Representatives selection committee investigating January 6, Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, presented the panel’s account of how the Save America PAC and Mr. Trump’s campaign raised $250 million after the election. claim that they are fighting widespread fraud when they know there is no.

“During the commission’s investigation, we found evidence that the Trump campaign and its representatives misled donors about where their funds were going and where they would be used. into what. So there’s not only the big lie, but there’s the big lie,” Ms. Lofgren said. “Donors deserve to know where their money is really going. They deserve better than what President Trump and his team did.”

The revelation that the Save America PAC has come under intense scrutiny comes as Mr. Trump is at the center of a remarkable spiral of investigations at the state and federal levels, stretching from Georgia to New York to Florida.

This week, a federal judge in Florida order to appoint an independent arbitrator, known as an exceptional master, to examine a trove of more than 11,000 documents seized last month from Mr. Trump’s club and residence. The search of the Mar-a-Lago property is part of a Justice Department investigation into whether Trump illegally kept defense documents at the property and impeded efforts to secure the property. repeated force of government officials to retrieve them.

Kitty Bennett contribution research.



Source link

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button