Here's how some Republican officials could end up with wire fraud charges: law professor
The House Select Committee on Jan. 6 revealed Monday that they are considering wire fraud charges for Republican officials who tried to make money off of the "Big Lie," the false allegation that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Law professor Jennifer Taub, who penned "Big Dirty Money," explained on Twitter that 18 US Code 1341 and 1343, which made mail fraud and wire fraud a crime, could be applied in the cases of Republicans who lied in their fundraising solicits to get cash.
"Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication or interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both," says the wire fraud part of the law.
Taub also cited the recent New York Times report saying that it seems the committee is looking at possible criminal charges for not only former President Donald Trump but also for Republicans who pushed the false story.
"Whether there was wire fraud by Republicans who raised millions of dollars off assertions that the election was stolen, despite knowing the claims were not true; and whether Mr. Trump and his allies obstructed Congress by trying to stop the certification of electoral votes," said the Times.
While many Republicans used the "big lie" to cash in, it was Trump and the GOP that made the most.
The report goes on to say, “The committee is also examining whether there is enough evidence to make a wire fraud referral over how Mr. Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party raised $255.4 million from donors as he and his allies fund-raised off the false claim that the election had been stolen."
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