The Special Counsel is investigating Trump’s fundraising off of the Big Lie, and now they have a report that the Trump campaign paid for that debunked his own election fraud claims.
The “Project 2020” report conducted by the Berkeley Research Group has now been obtained by prosecutors investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. A copy was reviewed by The Washington Post, and it shows that Trump’s own campaign paid more than $600,000 for research that undercut many of his most explosive claims. The research was never made public.
The Justice Department has sought and obtained multiple reports, emails and interviews from witnesses that show campaign officials analyzing, and often discrediting, claims that Trump was making publicly, according to several people involved in the investigation, who like some others spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal details. The Berkeley report was provided to the Justice Department earlier this month, one of the people said, after some people involved in its crafting received a subpoena.
The report is significant because it demonstrates that Donald Trump knew that there was no election fraud. Yet, he continued to raise money off of false election fraud claims. Those Big Lies were an act of fraud.
Jack Smith is also investigating where Trump spent the donations, and if the money was sent to real vendors or if the failed former president pocketed the cash.
If Trump raised money based on lies and then pocketed that money, he committed a crime. The Trump campaign spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a report that contradicted his lies, and that same report could get Donald Trump indicted.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
