Special counsel probes Trump over fundraising off false election fraud claims: report

Special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is now probing the former president’s fundraising in the aftermath of the 2020 election, The Washington Post reports.

Investigators are looking into whether Trump or his staff tried to fleece contributors over claims of election fraud the former president knew to be false, and in recent weeks Smith’s office has sent subpoenas to Trump advisors and former campaign staffers in connection with the probe, eight people with knowledge of the investigation told The Post.

Investigators are focusing on the period Nov. 3, 2020 to Trump’s last day in office on Jan. 20, 2021.

Prosecutors are investigating whether wire fraud laws that bar falsehoods made in emails for the purpose of scamming donors were broken.

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The Post reports that the “subpoenas seek more specific types of communications so prosecutors can compare what Trump allies and advisers were telling each other privately about the voter fraud claims to what they were saying publicly in appeals that generated more than $200 million in donations from conservatives, according to people with knowledge of the investigation.”

Prosecutors used a similar legal theory in the investigation of former Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon over misrepresentations over building a border wall in fundraising emails.