Fundraising Based On False Election Claims

Between November 2020 and January 2021, Donald J. Trump and his campaign apparatus raised hundreds of millions of dollars from supporters by soliciting funds under the pretext of “defending election integrity.” Donors were told their contributions would support legal challenges, recounts, and other efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

According to findings of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack, the repeatedly referenced “Election Defense Fund” never formally existed. Investigators found no evidence of any separate fund or account operating as described in fundraising appeals, nor records showing the money was dedicated to meaningful election litigation or recount efforts.

The January 6 Committee found that nearly $100 million was raised in the first week after the election, and that approximately $250 million in total was solicited using claims of election fraud and promises to defend the election. These claims were made despite Trump and his advisers having been repeatedly informed by campaign staff, the Department of Justice, and state officials that there was no evidence of widespread fraud.

Rather than being directed toward genuine legal challenges, the bulk of the funds were transferred to political committees under Trump’s control, primarily Save America PAC. From there, the money was used for a wide range of political and personal expenditures unrelated to election litigation.

Records reviewed by investigators showed that only a small portion of the funds raised were spent on legal fees. The majority was used for political operations, consulting fees, rallies and events — including activities connected to January 6 — transfers to pro-Trump organizations, payments to Trump-owned businesses, and cash reserves.

Documented expenditures included approximately $10 million paid to Event Strategies Inc., which organized Trump rallies including January 6-related events; more than $327,000 paid to Trump-owned properties such as Mar-a-Lago and Trump Hotels; $1 million transfers to both the America First Policy Institute and the Conservative Partnership Institute; and additional payments to consulting firms and campaign-aligned vendors. Tens of millions of dollars were also used to cover legal expenses arising from lawsuits and investigations filed against Trump after the election.

How the Laws May Apply

18 U.S.C. § 1343 — Soliciting donations based on knowingly false claims and a fictitious legal fund may constitute wire fraud, as the scheme relied on electronic communications to induce donors to part with money under false pretenses.

18 U.S.C. § 371 — Coordinated fundraising based on known falsehoods, if conducted with intent to defraud donors or misuse funds, may qualify as a conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Legal scholars have described the scheme as a “fraud within a fraud,” noting that the underlying election fraud claims were false and that the promised use of funds was itself fictitious.

Sources

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/html-submitted/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/03/trump-fundraising-election-fraud/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/06/16/trump-election-defense-fund-january-6

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/08/03/trump-election-fundraising-scam

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2022/06/17/trump-election-lies-fundraising-jan-6/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-election-defense-fund-jan-6-b2103517.html

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/election-law-journal/article/perils-of-fundraising-using-the-disinformation-of-the-big-lie/