Trump’s political operation and Republican Party committees have paid over $12.6 million to Jan. 6 rally organizers

Dear Friend of OpenSecrets, The congressional hearings conducted by the January 6 committee have delivered revealing new details that chart the trajectory of former President Donald Trump and his associates’ role from election night to the day of the riot in pushing to overturn 2020 election results. The hearings have dominated headlines over the past week, from Capitol tour accusations to Kimberly Guilfoyle being paid by a dark money group to speak at the National Mall event. But OpenSecrets readers know that following the money is even more important than following the headlines. And that’s exactly what our research and reporting teams did. OpenSecrets was one of the first news sources to report on ties between Trump’s political operation and Jan. 6 event organizers. At the time, we found $2.7M in payments “parked” across multiple organizations to hide their coordination. By August, we had updated our count to $4.3M, as Trump’s political operation continued to pay firms and individuals that helped organize the rally. Since then, OpenSecrets has found that Trump’s political operation and Republican Party committees have paid over $12.6 million to Jan. 6 rally organizers.  But there’s much more to the former president’s unfounded claims that the election was stolen. OpenSecrets’ researchers followed money ties around the “Big Lie,” leading to several original investigations, including: Congressional objectors to the Electoral College vote that certified President Biden outperforming their colleagues in election fundraising at the time of the story. Companies that disavowed giving to PACs that support election objectors, but leaving a backdoor open to continue their support through murkier channels. The same groups who organized the Jan. 6 rally funded this year’s CPAC featuring the former president and his election fraud claims. With rumors, half-truths and unfounded claims swirling around the hearings, OpenSecrets will continue giving you the plain truth backed by hard data on the money moving behind the scenes. Continue following our reporting for more updates as the hearings proceed. If you have found our reporting useful, please consider supporting our researchers’ painstaking work to connect the dots on the complex and opaque fundraising network behind these events.  You can power our public interest journalism with a donation today. Thank you for staying informed by the facts. With gratitude, Sheila Krumholz Executive Director Donate today ➡ Share Tweet Forward Want to change how you receive these emails? Update your preferences or unsubscribe.