A new report in the Washington Post indicates that federal prosecutors
are probing Donald Trump's fundraising attempts following his big election lies.
So, this is between the time he lost to the 2020
presidential election and Biden's inauguration day.
Now, the reason why they wanna investigate his fundraising efforts is because
there is some reason to believe that he committed wire fraud.
In fact, back in March,
prosecutors actually started to subpoena those close to Donald Trump.
So, let's get into some of the details here.
The report explains that the special counsel Jack Smith
is looking at potential wire fraud crimes committed by Trump and
his fundraising operation for using false claims of election
fraud to elicit donations which would violate wire fraud laws.
The post notes that under federal law, it is illegal to make false representations
over email to swindle people out of money, want to know how much he raised?
$200 million.
So, this was when- >> Is that above the threshold or
is that cool?
>> I guess we're gonna see how cool it is.
But the point here is and we've covered this story.
Trump was fundraising under the false pretenses of raising
money to challenge the election results in the courts.
He didn't do that.
He didn't actually use that money for that or that's the allegation.
>> So, is that specifically why they think it would apply in this particular case?
>> I don't look, I don't know the story just broke.
I- >> I demand specifics.
>> Okay, I'll give you few more- >> I'll give you a few more.
So, according to the Post Smith's office has sent subpoenas in recent
weeks to Trump's advisers and former campaign aides Republican operatives, and
other consultants involved in the 2020 presidential campaign.
They have also heard testimony from some of these
figures in front of a Washington grand jury, some of the people said.
So, the subpoenas which were issued in early March are aimed at gathering
private communications between Trump and his fundraising staff to better
understand whether or not they believe the claims behind the messaging,
which generated more than $200 million in donations from Conservatives.
And this is not the first time Trump's fundraising or this isn't
the first time that Trump's fundraising has been questioned as potential fraud.
A USA today editorial board report from December of 2020 was headlined
Trump fundraiser to challenge voting results in the real election fraud.
The board quoted some of Trump's fundraising calls.
We are fighting against the Democrats, mainstream media, and
big tech all at once.
It seems as though this investigation has everything to do with the false
pretense of raising money to challenge the election results in courts.
>> Okay, look, regardless, I'm not a lawyer obviously, but
that makes it potentially maybe a little bit more interesting.
Maybe if you were highly specific about what the money is gonna go towards and
it doesn't go towards that.
But more importantly, you knew that it wasn't gonna go towards that,
then maybe that's how they get him.
The more general claim that started that article, which again, maybe that's what
the law is that you can't make false claims and fundraising appeals.
I feel like if that's true, then almost all of them would violate the law.
I mean, first of all, just line up all of the e-mails that say this is the last time
we're gonna be contacting you or this is like they're all filled with lies about
exactly what they're fighting against and what they're gonna do with the money.
They may not be as highly specific and they certainly don't raise as much money
as Trump did in this very narrow window of time.
But anyway, that's my immediate knee-jerk reaction to the news and I have no doubt
that look to the extent that Republicans are willing to admit that this was a lie.
But then that is a defense that they could levy, they may not be willing to do that.
>> Yeah, the post notes that under federal law,
it's illegal to make false representations over email to swindle people out of money.
And you're right, which politician doesn't do that?
Every politician does that.
>> Yeah, again, I think maybe it comes down to the specific definition of false
representation.
Maybe it requires specificity about what the money is gonna go towards.
That would be my assumption but I don't know.
>> So, we'll do a deeper dive on this story likely on tomorrow's show
because I am curious what the argument is here.
And look, I have been clear and so is Cenk in that we believe that
everyone should be treated the same when it comes to the rule of law.
Someone who is powerful, someone who is a former president shouldn't
be protected from prosecution just because of his elite status.
But at the same time, I am a little bit concerned that there's a lot
of investigations going on and I hope that this isn't reaching for straws.
>> Yeah, my immediate reaction would be, well, what about other people that
say they're gonna raise money to do a recount, and then no recount ever happens?
Is that not the same thing?
And then also- >> Which by the way,
there should be punish, >> [CROSSTALK].
>> Yeah, there should be consequences for that too.
I don't know if it needs to be a full-blown,
federal criminal investigation, but
you shouldn't be able to lie to your constituents or to the American people
about what you're gonna do with the money that you're fundraising.
>> Well, I think,
it is definitely too much to ask because clearly it almost never happens.
But the reaction, the consequences should be from the people you've swindled.
Most people do not seem to mind when you lie to them in general.
And I've always found that to be weird.
When you lie to them and take their money with no intention to use it for
that thing, most people give people a pass I don't know why.
I've always thought that's weird.
But also this is a special counsel when I saw that I was like,
why I would prefer if it was.
I don't know some other aspect of the DOJ or
a more local thing because I want the special counsel to actually
move on the things they were already investigating.
I'm not interested in the Mueller report where,
they're still looking to wire fraud in 2025.
Like maybe we could figure out before we're in the middle of the general
election what's going on.
>> That would be great.
Yeah, I'd appreciate that too.
So, we'll fill you guys in as the story develops.
We will do a deeper dive on it on tomorrow's show.
But that's what we have for now.
And I'm interested to see how this plays out.