A former White House counsel says Donald Trump Jr. and the 2020 Trump reelection committed wire fraud with a series of text messages they sent out to potential donors.
Norm Eisen, who is a former White House Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform in the Obama administration was made aware of the texts by Jennifer Palmieri, who served as Director of Communications in the Obama White House:
More threatening fundraising texts from Don Jr. pic.twitter.com/LNLnU6ZA3k
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) June 19, 2020
That led Eisen to cite the exact section of federal law he said had been violated by the text message:
This is 18 USC 1343 wire fraud by Trump campaign
No way the other 99 really replied, so all elements are met
1)scheme to defraud 2)with intent to defraud & 3) foreseeable & actual use of interstate wire comms.
Barr won’t investigate, but states can under analogous state crimes https://t.co/q9FUap2PIJ
— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) June 19, 2020
Eisen later added that the very same sort of scheme is exactly what got the president in trouble for his failed Trump University fiasco:
“These are the kinds of fraudulent marketing techniques that Trump has used since the beginning of his career, and that led to outcomes like the huge Trump U. fraud settlement the shuttering of his charity by NY State.
“I ain’t kidding when I say it is likely actionable.”
And attorney George Conway — who just so happens to be the husband of Kellyanne Coway, a top adviser to the president — concurred completely with Eisen:
You’re totally right, Norm. Fraud involving money isn’t protected by the First Amendment, even when it’s practiced during a political campaign.
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 19, 2020
Soon, others on Twitter noted that they too had received the text messages from Don Jr. and Trump campaign:
That is interesting. I got the same text from #DimwitJr saying that I was the only one who had not join the club. pic.twitter.com/W3I4qJcnVM
— (((AlanRosenblatt, Ph.D.))) (@DrDigiPol) June 19, 2020
Same pic.twitter.com/JbLnFbMGA9
— Crenshaw (@okie210) June 19, 2020
As Eisen pointed out, while the Department of Justice under William Barr won’t file charges, each state where the text messages were sent can, which suggests that states such as California and New York may. That would be a major financial burden and embarrassment for Trump’s 2020 campaign at a time when the president is already facing an uphill climb in his battle with Joe Biden.
As the old saying goes (especially when it’s applied to the Trumps), Grifters gonna grift.