Team Trump is finally getting the attention it has warranted over deranged fundraising emails sent weeks ahead of the Jan. 6 attack that claimed the 2020 election was stolen.
No, I don’t mean medical attention (good guess). I mean federal, investigatory attention.
The House Jan. 6 committee said Wednesday that it issued a subpoena last month to Salesforce, the data and digital communications vendor that provides email service for the Republican National Committee.
These emails were always the perfect encapsulation of Trump’s character: equal parts petulant and fraudulent.
The revelation came as the RNC announced a lawsuit seeking to block the committee’s subpoena, calling it a “fishing expedition” and “staggeringly broad.”
But the committee laid out clear reasons for looking into Salesforce.
“Between Election Day 2020 and January 6th, the RNC and the Trump campaign solicited donations by pushing false claims that the election was tainted by widespread fraud,” Jan. 6 committee spokesman Tim Mulvey said.
“These emails encouraged supporters to put pressure on Congress to keep President Trump in power,” he added.
Mulvey said the subpoena will “help investigators understand the impact of false, inflammatory messages in the weeks before January 6th, the flow of funds, and whether contributions were actually directed to the purpose indicated.”
And he didn’t mince words about the emails’ potential role in fomenting last year’s attempted insurrection, alleging that claims of a stolen election “motivated” the rioters. The committee’s focus on the emails shows investigators aren’t chalking up Team Trump’s incessant and unhinged pleas about election fraud to lunacy alone. The Trump campaign sent a barrage of emails after losing the 2020 election that claimed the election wasn’t over (it was), called on supporters to “stand up and fight” against the “Liberal mob,” and told Trump’s followers to “step up to the front lines of this nasty battle and DEFEND THE ELECTION.” Each email, in true Trumpian fashion, made sure to include a request for donations. As NBC News reported, the Trump campaign raised hundreds of millions of dollars after his loss, an effort that was certainly aided by his fact-free barrage of emails. These emails were always the perfect encapsulation of Trump’s character: equal parts petulant and fraudulent. And while the crazed tone of the emails frequently led to mocking online, the Jan. 6 committee made clear its view that these messages were no laughing matter. They were quite possibly part of a criminal scheme.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. Recommended
