According to a recent report from The Washington Post, the criminal investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith at the federal Justice Department and stemming from attempts after the last presidential election to subvert its result is focusing on the possibility of financial crimes roughly in line with wire fraud.
In short, were members of Trump’s political operation knowingly lying to people to get them to give Donald money, meaning donations, after the last election? They were obviously spreading falsehoods considering the abject lack of actual truth to the idea of a stolen election, but how far up did those misrepresentations of reality go? Was there a conspiracy to hoodwink Trump’s supporters for campaign donations? These are the sorts of questions that have recently been touched upon by those working on the Smith probe, which could easily result in additional criminal charges for the former president himself. The special counsel already charged Trump once, after all.
“If individuals knowingly used electronic communications such as emails to raise funds under false pretenses, that could constitute wire fraud,” The Washington Post noted. There is evidence of potentially extensive knowledge inside the Trump campaign about what in truth was the lack of substance to the stolen election allegations. “Smith’s team has sent subpoenas in recent months seeking detailed information about the fundraising ads, two people familiar with the matter said,” per the Post.
Smith’s investigators are even seeking information on the possibility that people’s names and likenesses were used in these messaging campaigns essentially against their wishes, which could feasibly open up another avenue for allegations of fraud. “Investigators have asked multiple Trump advisers about the formulation of the ads, payment for them and whether campaign aides knew they were false before they were released,” the Post said. “Dozens” of individuals who’ve worked at the staff level in Trump’s orbit have become the subject of prosecutors’ demands for communications, per the same publication. Trump keeps promoting the lies. Read more on this here.
