Former DOJ official points to key questions special counsel might have about Trump's bogus fundraising after 2020 defeat

Special Counsel Jack Smith is bringing in more of those linked to Donald Trump's campaign and White House to give details about the actions around Jan. 6 and the attempt to overturn the election.

Mary McCord, former acting assistant attorney general for national security, pointed to then-Director of National Intelligence John Radcliffe and what he was briefing Donald Trump about during the events leading up to Jan. 6.

"Here we are getting at the core of what was known to the president about the potential violence," she explained. "This is something I've been interested in. What was he getting briefed on every day as part of his intelligence briefing? Was he being told about the type of planning that was going on across the country by his supporters, including his most violent supporters, and including private, unlawful militias like the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, what was being briefed to him?"

Another question she had is about how Trump perceived any reports that he was given about the information. According to several reports, Trump often didn't pay attention to his briefings. But if they were his supporters being discussed, it could have piqued his interest.

MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace highlight some of the moves made by the Trump campaign after it was clear that they'd lost the 2020 election. The campaign was pushing out a number of fundraising pleas claiming they needed money for election protests, recounts, and other fights. Wallace accused Trump of being all in it for the grift.

IN OTHER NEWS: 'New York hates you': Trump motorcade gets hostile greeting in NYC

"This is sort of classic white-collar prosecution 101," explained McCord, who also served as a U.S. Attorney for 20 years. "Follow the money. I was very relieved to hear the reporting, see the reporting in TheWashington Post that this is an area of inquiry, because I think — I don't know that it shows that he is closer to charges than a week ago. But it is an area where there's a lot of precedents — if the facts establish that there was wire fraud here, it is something that is very well-known. It's not novel. It's not unprecedented."

"There are abundant cases like this, including the case that was brought against Steve Bannon and others back regarding their fraudulent fundraising for money to build the wall. That was a lie. They didn't use all the money to build the wall they were indicted for that. some of them pleaded guilty. Then, of course, former President Trump pardoned Steve Bannon before he went to trial."

The other point, she explained, is even if there isn't enough evidence once Jack Smith gets emails and communications and other documents, all of the conversations, all of the digital ads were distorting the facts and asking for money.

"Even if there's insufficient evidence to say the people approving the ads really knew the election wasn't stolen and nevertheless claimed a rigged election, even if they think, 'oh, leeway for fund-raising for a campaign'. There's other things that are likely demonstrably false. One was the claim it was used to create an election defense fund. That did not happen. That's what the 'We Build the Wall' did."

ALSO IN THE NEWS: Nebraska Republican's bizarre Bible reference sparks laughter

"The other was the money would be used for recounts and efforts like that to challenge the election. And that is not what happened. And I don't think that was ever what was intended to happen. I guess we will see what the documents show. Instead, that money was just simply used for campaigning. There are other ways of showing fraud than just, 'did you truly believe that the election had been rigged,' or 'did you know that there was no substantial evidence of fraud in the election?'"

See the full conversation below or at the link here.

Former DOJ official points to questions special counsel might have about fundraisingyoutu.be