Federal prosecutors are investigating fundraising operations tied to Sidney Powell, the right-wing attorney who former President Trump himself once publicly named as a part of his legal team. As The Washington Post explains it, authorities “have demanded the financial records of multiple fundraising organizations launched by attorney Sidney Powell after the 2020 election as part of a criminal investigation, according to a subpoena” examined by the publication. Exact criminal offenses that may have unfolded were not immediately clear, but issues include the fact that money came in from donors before Powell’s organization that was supposedly receiving it — Defending the Republic — was even incorporated.
NEW: Prosecutors demanded records of Sidney Powell’s fundraising groups as part of criminal probe w/ @isaacstanbecker @PostRoz https://t.co/aSswbUTvar
— emma brown (@emmersbrown) November 30, 2021
As summarized by the Post, the subpoena was issued in September and “sought communications and other records related to fundraising and accounting by groups including Defending the Republic, a Texas-based organization claiming 501(c) 4 nonprofit status, and a PAC by the same name.” Records have been demanded stretching back to early November of last year.
Federal prosecutors leading a criminal probe have sought financial records of fundraising groups Sidney Powell set up as she challenged the 2020 election. via @IsaacStanBecker @emmersbrown @PostRozhttps://t.co/5XoDkSOrgX
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) November 30, 2021
Among other examples of what could be under investigation, Powell asked for donations on the Fox program hosted by Lou Dobbs all the way back on November 10 — but the incorporation of Defending the Republic only happened on December 1, even though she tied that earlier request for donations to the entity. Brandon Johnson, who the Post characterizes as an authorized representative of the group, said that as for donations provided prior to the business’s incorporation, he didn’t “know where they went, but they did not go to Defending the Republic.”
This spring I exposed Sidney Powell's fundraising violations.
Now, federal prosecutors are on the job. https://t.co/UygfI7dLZs
— Grant Stern is vaxxed (@grantstern) November 30, 2021
Powell and Defending the Republic have been closely involved in efforts to undercut the outcome of last year’s presidential election. For instance, Defending the Republic provided over half a million dollars in financial support for the GOP-backed election audit that concluded not too long ago in Maricopa County, Arizona — so the organization is clearly dealing with a lot of money, which potentially raises the stakes of the criminal probe targeting it.
Lawyer Lin Wood, under pressure after being slammed by Kyle Rittenhouse, is absolutely going off on his old buddies Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn for not defending him enough. Claims Powell is under federal investigation and brings up Flynn's occult prayer. pic.twitter.com/RvtGMTPBkM
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 23, 2021
Defending the Republic recently paid a $10,000 fine to Florida state authorities for offenses including the obtaining of donations under “deception, false pretense, misrepresentation, or false promise.” Dominion Voting Systems — the voting technology company that is currently suing Powell over her false claims about the firm’s role in non-existent election meddling — stated in a court filing earlier this year, in reference to Defending the Republic, that she “treated the entity’s funds as her personal funds, redirecting them to the law firm she controls and dominates and raiding them to pay for her personal legal defense.” Powell herself stated that Defending the Republic was “working to help defend all these cases and to defend me now that I’m under a massive attack from the attorney general of Michigan and the city of Detroit and everything else.” Read more at this link.
MAGA lawyer Sidney Powell is under federal investigation.
Story from @arawnsley and @swin24 and me: https://t.co/cnprdIlCkZ
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) November 30, 2021
