Trump immediately starts fundraising off January 6 indictment
Just minutes after news broke that a federal grand jury had indicted Donald Trump on counts related to his actions to overturn the 2020 election, the former president did what he does as well as anyone.
He asked for money.
“I don’t have to tell you that the stakes of this election have never been greater. Our Republic is hanging by a thread, and America needs you right now,” Trump wrote in an email to supporters with the all-caps subject line “BREAKING: OFFICIALLY INDICTED BY BIDEN DOJ”. “Please make a contribution to show that you will NEVER SURRENDER our country to tyranny as the Deep State thugs try to JAIL me for life – for 1,500% impact.”
Trump continued:
"As you know, I did nothing wrong. It’s well-documented that I told Americans to act 'PEACEFULLY' and discouraged the use of any violence. This is nothing but an egregious act of Election Interference and a final act of desperation from Crooked Joe as he crashes in the polls.
“The entire Biden Administration knows that I’m the ONLY candidate who would defeat Crooked Joe in a free and fair election,” Trump wrote. “They know how much support we have from the hardworking people of our country. But more importantly, they know that I’m the only candidate who can dismantle the Deep State and end their stranglehold on our nation. So, their only hope is to try and send me to JAIL for the rest of my life.”
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Suggested fundraising amounts, included in red click buttons at the end of the email, range from $24 to $250.
A portion of Donald Trump's campaign fundraising email moments after his latest indictment. (Email screen grab.)
Any money donated through this fundraising ask goes to a political committee called the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.
The fine print on Trump’s donation page indicates that 90 percent of any donation will be transferred to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign committee while 10 percent will be transferred to Save America, a political action committee Trump created in the days after he lost the 2020 presidential election.
About 30 minutes after its initial fundraising email, the Trump campaign fired off another email asking for donations — this time time offering an "I Stand With Trump" limited edition T-shirt stamped with Trump's latest indictment date — free with "a contribution of $47 to help peacefully DEFEND our movement from the never-ending witch hunts," the email said.
With the subject line, "THIRD UNJUST INDICTMENT," the email from the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee listed Trump's various legal battles and praised Trump supporters for their strength through his indictments this year.
"Because, Patriot, during these dark times, YOU are President Trump’s courage, his hope, and the source of his unwavering resolve to SAVE our country.And what better way to show that YOU stood by the President’s side through *EVERY* phony indictment than your very own Limited-Edition “I STAND WITH TRUMP” T-Shirt," the email said.
The Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee sent out a fundraising email shortly after Trump's Tuesday indictment offering supporters an "I Stand With Trump" T-shirt for a contribution of at least $47. (Email screen grab)
Trump has been a prolific fundraiser since he lost the 2020 presidential election and has primarily used Save America PAC to raise money in the low nine-figure range before announcing his run for the presidency in November 2022.
Save America has been the primary source of tens of millions of dollars spent to pay Trump’s legal bills since he left the White House on Jan. 20, 2021.
The National Republican Congressional Committee fired off its own fundraising email minutes after the announcement of charges. The headline, as in Trump’s press release, referred to the Department of Justice as “Joe Biden’s Department of Justice.”
It said, “The largest WITCH HUNT in American history just won’t end. The deep state will do anything to distract Joe Biden and his corrupt son. The time is NOW for every PATRIOT like you to send a clear message that this two-tiered system of justice is unacceptable!”
The House Republicans asked donors to chip in $35 to $250 or any amount “to help to expose the deep state for this absurd WITCH HUNT,” the fundraising email said.
Trump’s previous indictments have touched off spikes in his fundraising, but Politico reported today that campaign donations declined from the indictment over covering up hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to the federal indictment pertaining to his possession of national security documents.
“All told, Trump raised nearly $4 million via WinRed from nearly 80,000 distinct donors April 4, the day he pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court on charges of falsification of business records related to payouts to porn star Stormy Daniels," Politico reported. "By contrast, when Trump appeared in Miami court June 13 to plead not guilty to his second indictment on charges related to classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago, he raised only $1.3 million from just over 35,0000 donors."
On Tuesday, the former president was indicted on four offenses: conspiracy to defraud the United States, two counts of witness tampering and conspiracy against rights.
The indictment also specifies six unnamed co-conspirators whom, according to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, include four attorneys, a DOJ official and a political consultant.