Coordinated Disinformation Campaign Despite Knowing Claims Were False

Following the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump engaged in a sustained and coordinated campaign to promote false claims of widespread election fraud, despite being repeatedly informed by his own advisers, campaign staff, federal agencies, and state officials that those claims were untrue. Multiple investigations later concluded that Trump knew—or had been clearly informed—that his fraud allegations lacked factual basis but continued to promote them publicly and privately.

Senior officials within the Department of Justice told Trump on multiple occasions that allegations involving voting machines, forged ballots, and ballot dumps were false. Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue documented conversations in which Trump was explicitly told the DOJ had found no evidence of outcome-determinative fraud. Donoghue later testified that he told Trump that much of the information he was relying on was false.

The Department of Homeland Security also concluded that the 2020 election was secure and that claims of systemic manipulation were unfounded. DHS officials briefed the White House on these findings, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency publicly stated that the election was the most secure in U.S. history. Trump responded by attacking DHS leadership and firing CISA Director Christopher Krebs shortly after Krebs contradicted Trump’s claims.

Trump’s own campaign staff similarly rejected the fraud narrative. Senior advisers testified that internal reviews uncovered no evidence supporting claims of widespread fraud. By January 2021, more than sixty state and federal court cases challenging election results had failed, often due to lack of evidence. Trump was repeatedly warned that judges — including Republican-appointed judges — were rejecting the claims as baseless.

Despite these warnings, Trump continued asserting that millions of illegal votes had been cast and that voting systems were rigged. He amplified these claims through rallies, social media posts, official statements, and fundraising communications. Investigators later concluded that the disinformation campaign served as the factual pretext for additional efforts to pressure state officials, the Department of Justice, members of Congress, and the vice president to overturn the election.

Congressional investigators found that Trump’s continued promotion of claims he knew were false demonstrated intent. The House January 6 Committee concluded that the disinformation campaign was not rhetorical but strategic, designed to generate public and political pressure to nullify lawful election outcomes and justify actions that lacked any legal basis.

How the Laws May Apply

18 U.S.C. § 371 — Knowingly spreading false claims to justify efforts to interfere with lawful election certification may constitute a conspiracy to defraud the United States by impairing legitimate government functions.

18 U.S.C. § 241 — Promoting false allegations to invalidate lawful ballots may implicate voters’ constitutional right to have their votes counted.

18 U.S.C. § 1343 — Fundraising or official actions based on knowingly false representations may qualify as wire fraud if conducted through electronic communications.

Sources

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/pdf/GPO-J6-REPORT.pdf

https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/download

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/us/politics/trump-justice-department-election.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/13/jan-6-hearings-trump-knew-election-lost/

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-was-told-election-fraud-claims-were-false-house-panel-says-2022-06-13/

https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/joint-statement-election-security-officials

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/13/trump-election-fraud-jan-6-panel-00039478