In the movie All the President’s Men, which focused on The Washington Post’s investigation of Watergate and President Richard Nixon’s role in it, a tip from an anonymous whistleblower known only as Deep Throat until very recently advised Bob Woodward to “follow the money,” which led them to the culprit behind the cover-up: Richard M. Nixon. Today, the Jan. 6 commission took that advice with connecting Donald Trump and his funders to the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to stop the certification of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States.
House investigators target the money trail behind Jan 6 rally: “A lot of the staffing of it came from people who used to work for Trump on his campaign and then just went over to work on the rally stuff, so we're gonna get to the bottom of that stuff." https://t.co/u8Dpsasr5i
— GoldenRule1 (@cooperchip1) October 22, 2021
A raucous rally in which Rudy Giuliani told supporters there should be a “trial by combat” (a reference to the HBO show Game of Thrones in which opponents fight to the death) and the twice-impeached ex-president who never won the popular vote told angry rally attendees to “fight like hell” and to head down to the Capitol building (which they did, and entered the building illegally by beating Capitol Police officers with flagpoles and spraying them with chemicals while erecting a gallow’s pole and chanting about hanging the vice-president) was funded by some Trump donors and others in the former president’s circle.
CNN reports that:
‘The Democratic-led panel is focused in part on understanding how event organizers and vendors were paid, and how the two rallies were funded, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation, including some who have been interviewed by the committee. Investigators also want to know if any funding came from domestic extremists or foreign sources, sources say.’
WSJ News Exclusive | Jan. 6 Rally Funded by Top Trump Donor, Helped by Alex Jones, Organizers Say https://t.co/AjccOSPj01
— Jeffrey Levin (@jilevin) January 31, 2021
During Trump’s second impeachment, this time for inciting a rally instead of trying to extort a foreign country, the House determined that Trump incited the violent mob. In fact, even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said that Trump was responsible for the violence. Now, the money behind that violence could provide more proof of his complicity.
CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen noted that:
‘As Rep. Liz Cheney said the other night, it’s very likely that Trump was personally involved in the planning and execution of January 6 and these money trails can help adduce additional proof of that. They are one of the most valuable avenues of investigation.’
Important new details on funding of Jan. 6 promotion: Publix heiress, funder of Jan. 6 rally, also gave $150,000 to GOP attorneys general association. From @bethreinhard @JaxAlemany @thamburger https://t.co/MFySHwOztU
— Rosalind Helderman (@PostRoz) October 16, 2021
Trump has tried to block the release of documents and testimony by witnesses to cover his connection to the attack, only to be rebuffed by the current president, Joe Biden, the only person in the world who can make decisions about whether or not “executive privilege” applies in this case. It doesn’t, and Biden said so. Some of those documents may include communications with donors and other organizers, just as testimony by witnesses and high-profile participants might reveal.
Rep. Jamie Raskin
‘There was a lot of money raised and a lot of money given, millions of dollars … to pay for the buses and the hotels and the meals and the accommodation. A lot of the staffing of it came from people who used to work for Donald Trump on his campaign and then just went over to work on the rally stuff, so we’re gonna get to the bottom of that stuff.’
A top Trump fundraiser said she raised $3 million for the rally that preceded the January 6 insurrection. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered about who provided that funding, and where it ultimately went.https://t.co/4Kqww3pEIz
— Noah Bookbinder (@NoahBookbinder) October 21, 2021