Good afternoon to Special Counsel John Smith and no one else.
Last night CNN reported that the grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s many, many crimes subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani about payments from the Trump campaign for his efforts to ratfuck the 2020 election. Because if you think you’re going to drop a subpoena in DC and keep it secret from reporters Katelyn Polantz and Sarah Murray, you are sadly mistaken.
During the second House January 6 Select Committee hearing in June, Rep. Zoe Lofgren accused the former president of using “false claims of election fraud to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from supporters who were told their donations were for the legal fight in the courts,” adding later that “the big lie was also a big ripoff.” In the final hearing, Lofgren went further, asserting that “the committee has learned that some of those funds were used to hire lawyers. We have also obtained evidence of efforts to provide or offer employment to witnesses.”
Later, it was confirmed that she was referring to Mark Meadows’s former aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who changed her testimony after firing Trumpland lawyer Stefan Passantino, who was being paid by a Trump-related entity. Hutchinson alleges that Passantino refused to disclose who was footing the bill, saying “we’re not telling people where funding is coming from right now, don’t worry, we’re taking care of you,” and that he counseled her to testify that she did not recall events she witnessed, because “They don’t know what you know, Cassidy. They don’t know that you can recall some of these things. So you saying ‘I don’t recall’ is an entirely acceptable response to this.”
Hey, Stefan, did you maybe also get a little love note from the grand jury? Wonkette’s DMs are open!
While it was not a major committee focus, the hearings did touch on the massive fundraising apparatus Trump used to raise a hundred million dollars touting a promise to overturn the election in the courts. The implication was that he might have made false statements to fraudulently bilk the rubes with lies about a stolen election and ongoing litigation. And apparently the Special Counsel heard them.
With Giuliani, the investigators have prioritized getting financial information from him, one person said.
The inquiry to Giuliani came from David Rody, a former top prosecutor in New York who specializes in gang and conspiracy cases and is assisting Smith with examining a broader criminal conspiracy after the election, according to some of the sources.
Put it in our veins!
So, big mazel tov to Rudy Giuliani, for maybe getting compensated for his time. We were under the impression that he rendered his services pro bono — although not, perhaps, deliberately. But if he got a taste of those sweet, sweet griftbux for showing his whole ass and getting himself suspended from the practice of law, well, congrats.
Okay, Jack Smith, let’s fuckin’ go already!
[CNN]
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