1/6 Insurrection Investigation

[Rick Plant]

Mark Meadows was in the middle of Trump's 'harebrained' schemes -- including the coup: ABC's Karl



According to ABC's Jonathan Karl, the House committee investigating the January 6th insurrection will likely focus like a laser on former Donald Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who was personally involved in many of Donald Trump initiatives -- legal or not.

Speaking with MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, who called the last days of the Trump White House a "clown show," Karl said Meadows seemed to have his fingers in the middle of much of what Trump wanted done.

"It looked like a clown show except these people were in the White House and trying to overthrow the United States government or overturn an election of an American president when every judge said there was nothing to these charges," the Morning Joe host commented. "What was your takeaway talking to Donald Trump and digging into this as deeply as you did? "

"Well, first of all, I think that the role of Mark Meadows that was mentioned by Mika Brzezinski is important."

"This was the white house chief of staff, this was one of his campaign lawyers outlining a very specific plan with dates and times that was all centering on Mike Pence obeying the orders of Donald Trump, and it was a plan that if Pence had gone along with, would have resulted in a much bigger constitutional crisis than what we saw" Karl explained. "And Joe, what I found is that's just one example of where this could have gone off the rails and almost did go off the rails even in a more spectacular way than it did."

"Mark Meadows played a role throughout this, and Joe and Mika, I document this chapter and verse," he continued. "The role that Meadows played during the transition to chase down, to pursue every hare-brained scheme Donald Trump had; every conspiracy theory to try to undo what is really the central miracle of American democracy, a peaceful transition of power."

"Meadows was pressuring the Pentagon, the Justice Department into doing this in the end with Mike Pence -- much of this not known at the time," Karl elaborated. "He just played this role of trying to use all means necessary to effectuate what would have been a coup -- it was a coup overturning a proper election."

Watch below:

[Rick Plant]

Jan. 6 insurrection was 'treason': DC insider says we haven't faced anything this bad 'since the Civil War'



There seems to be no realistic prospect that Donald Trump and members of his inner circle, along with Republican collaborators in Congress and other financiers and organizers of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol will ever be punished for their many and obvious crimes. For that matter, the foot soldiers of the Trump regime are not being prosecuted to the full extent of the law either.

Donald Trump is continuing to rally his movement behind the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and that Joe Biden is a usurper. Trump is also targeting any Republican candidates or elected officials he deems disloyal. The Republican Party and its propaganda machine are accelerating an internal purge with the goal of purifying Trump's political personality cult. Some observers have suggested that this means Trump's movement is becoming weaker, but the opposite is true.

Trump's disgraced former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, played a key role in Trump's coup attempt, literally advocating that the military be deployed to enforce martial law and invalidate the 2020 election. If that idea had been carried through, American democracy would have been effectively suspended for an indefinite period.

Flynn continues to make public threats against American democracy, suggesting last weekend that the U.S. should have "one religion." Some months ago, Flynn appeared to endorse the idea of a military coup, similar to the one that occurred recently in Myanmar, presumably as a way of returning to power.

It has recently been reported that Trump's coup attempt was more advanced and broader in scope than was known at the time. Former Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis apparently sent detailed instructions to Mike Pence's chief of staff, outlining a plan to derail certification of the electoral votes in Congress. The idea was to throw the election into the House — something that has not happened since the early 19th century — presumably resulting in a second term for Trump.

Steve Bannon, Trump's former campaign chairman and White House strategist, surrendered to federal authorities this week on charges of contempt of Congress for his refusal to testify before the House committee investigating Jan. 6. Bannon is not likely to be deterred by this prosecution, wishful thinking among the hashtag-resistance aside. Instead, as Salon columnist Heather Digby Parton has observed, Bannon will use this new moment in the limelight as political theater, to the delight of his neofascist fan base.

Why are Attorney General Merrick Garland and the other leaders of the Department of Justice so reluctant to use the full force of the law against the Trump regime and other Republican fascists? Is the Biden administration's desperate desire to appear "apolitical" endangering democracy and the rule of law? What, if anything, does the Bannon prosecution mean in the larger context of the Trump regime's criminal acts? or not – for its approach to the Trump regime's crimes more generally?

In an attempt to answer these questions I recently spoke with Richard Painter, who was White House chief ethics counsel under President George W. Bush. He is also a frequent guest on MSNBC, CNN and other news networks. His most recent book, co-authored with Peter Golenbock, is "American Nero: The History of the Destruction of the Rule of Law, and Why Trump is the Worst Offender."

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length:

Why are Donald Trump and his co-conspirators not in jail for their likely or evident crimes connected to Jan. 6 and the coup plot? Are there no consequences for what they did?

The Department of Justice has not even started to investigate the higher-ups in connection to Jan. 6. The Jan. 6 committee [in Congress] cannot prosecute anything. They are also having a difficult time getting the documents and testimony they need for their investigations. Donald Trump is resisting every step of the way. In the end we will just have to wait and see what the committee comes up with when they finish their work.

I am very disappointed in the Department of Justice. It is being too deferential to Donald Trump. There has been some improvement, with the Department of Justice deciding that the Trump White House documents are not privileged. But again, the Department of Justice is not investigating Donald Trump and other senior people in the White House who may have been involved in the events of Jan. 6.

It is unfortunate that the Department of Justice has decided to go that route, because whether or not a crime is prosecuted should not be a political judgment call. If someone commits a crime — including insurrection and sedition, or inciting insurrection — it should be prosecuted. I am very upset the Department of Justice has not appointed a special prosecutor to focus on Jan. 6 as well as other alleged criminal acts committed by the Trump administration.

One of the common excuses and deflections is that we must be patient because the law moves slowly. There are levels of "slow." But how do we explain the lack of urgency being shown by the Biden administration and the Department of Justice?

They need to appoint a special prosecutor. I do not expect Merrick Garland and Biden's other appointees to prosecute Donald Trump and his cronies in connection with the events of Jan. 6. That would look too political. This is not a question of things taking too long — they have not even started their work.

Garland is trying to avoid the appearance of looking "political" by aggressively pursuing the Trump administration and its allies. But a coup and insurrection are by definition political acts. Please help me sort out Garland's logic.

There is one type of politics in a representative democracy, and there is another type of politics in an authoritarian dictatorship or a country that has otherwise descended into chaos. The making of the law and the passing of laws is a political process, where Congress is involved in agreeing what the law is. Once we have a law and someone violates it as a criminal act, then they need to be prosecuted.

In a society where the law is deemed to just be political, it can be taken to an extreme. The law becomes discretionary and tied to political ideology. That's where you end up with a dictatorship, such as with Nazi Germany.

In a well-functioning representative democracy, once the law has been enacted through the political process, if someone violates it — for example, by inciting a coup or an insurrection — that person or persons is prosecuted. That is the political system I thought we lived under here in America. We should expect that prosecutors are going to do their job.

And it's critically important, because the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, Section Three, says that anyone who's taken an oath of office to support the United States who then engages in an insurrection, or gives aid and comfort to an insurrection or rebellion, is disqualified from public office.

Therefore, we could have a number of people, perhaps including the former president, Donald Trump, who are actually disqualified from public office because they gave aid and comfort to an insurrection on Jan. 6.

Steve Bannon, who is publicly implicated in the 2020 coup plot, has finally been indicted for refusing to testify before the Jan. 6 committee. What does this mean in terms of the Department of Justice and its refusal to go after Donald Trump and the other coup plotters?

The Department of Justice had little choice but to prosecute Bannon — his contempt of Congress is obvious. It might as well not be a crime, if Bannon is not prosecuted.

I see little change in attitude at the Department of Justice on the big picture: They must appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any crimes leading up to and after the 2020 election. It is inexplicable that the Department of Justice has not done so.

I have no idea whether others in Trump's inner circle will cooperate with the Jan. 6 committee. Unlike Bannon, most were White House staffers at the time, so there is a claim of executive privilege — by Trump, not by Biden — that needs to be soundly rejected by the courts on appeal. They probably cannot be prosecuted until those appeals are exhausted.

Jan. 6 and the related events before and after that day constitute the actions of a cabal who were involved in what, by all common-sense definitions, was a conspiracy. Again, this gets to the question of urgency. That language is being actively avoided by the mainstream news media and political leaders.

Yes, that is what was taking place. We went through this when Donald Trump became president by collaborating and colluding with the Russians. What we have here is not ,collusion with the Russians but instead collusion and collaboration with domestic terrorists or insurrectionists who planned to overthrow the United States government. We have not had to deal with something of this magnitude since the Civil War, and it needs to be properly investigated.

What message is being sent if Trump, the coup plotters and his foot soldiers are not punished?

The message is that you can get away with the most egregious crimes, including insurrection and sedition, so long as you have enough political power that people do not want to stop you or otherwise interfere with you.

That is not how a representative democracy is supposed to function. We need to revisit the question of whether the most powerful people in this country are going to be held accountable under the Constitution and our criminal laws just like everyone else.

It also seems as if those who participated in the January insurrection and the Capitol assault are receiving relatively minor punishments, under Department of Justice guidelines and instructions.

The people who showed up on Jan. 6 and invaded the Capitol should be held accountable. They should not be punished with small fines and little jail time. This was an attempted coup. It was violent. People were killed. Those who were involved should be serving time in jail. Extraordinarily light sentences are being handed out in view of what happened here, which was an attempt to overthrow the government. That is considered treason in many respects, and is one of the most serious felonies imaginable. These are not misdemeanors. These are not minor felonies. I would think people would be getting some serious jail time.

The people who are behind the events of Jan. 6 are not even being investigated, much less prosecuted. I don't believe that crowd just came out of thin air. Those events were not spontaneous. There were individuals and groups pushing them to be there and organizing and inciting those events. None of those people are being held responsible, and that may ultimately include the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump.

At some point the full truth of Jan. 6 and the Trump regime's coup plot will be revealed to the American people and the world. I am deeply concerned that these investigations will take so long that people will be so exhausted that they no longer care. In essence, the reaction will be, "So what?" If the Trumpists and coup plotters are able to escape serious punishment, then it will mean the end of the country's democracy, because another coup is almost guaranteed to happen. Am I being too pessimistic and cynical?

That is a grave risk. People must be held accountable for their actions. These events can't be discounted or minimized as being "just a crazy insurrection" with a bunch of "crazy guys," where in the end some people are sent to prison for a small length of time and are then let out, as though nothing is going to happen again that the public needs to be worried about.

That is like the mistake that Weimar Germany made in 1923, when Hitler and his followers had the Beer Hall Putsch and thought they could take over the German government. They were all tried and sent to jail. Hitler did one year or so in prison. Then he gets out and he is elevated by the right-wing extremists as a hero. Ten years later, Hitler is sitting in the chancellor's office running the whole country.

When people engage in a coup attempt like this and are allowed to come back, it will be much worse the second time around.

https://www.rawstory.com/richard-painter/

[Rick Plant]

Jon Karl reveals the office ransacked most on Jan. 6 and what it exposes about the insurrection



While speaking to the Washington Post about his new book "Betrayal," ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl revealed that one of the offices most ransacked in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 tells a lot about the aims of the attackers.

While it's clear that many of President Donald Trump's supporters were caught up in the moment, it was also clear that a subset of those had very specific goals to accomplish on Jan. 6.

According to Karl, the Senate Parliamentarian's office was the most pillaged among the other rooms in the Capitol. CNN's Ali Zaslav posted a video of the office at the time. Karl explained that it was clear those going through the office were looking for something specific and he thinks it was the Electoral College ballots.

The book describes the ceremony of Jan. 6, with "three dark and shiny mahogany boxes brought in by the parliamentarian's office to be carried along as the senators walked over to the House. The boxes looked like relics from a time long past—each one held shut by wide leather straps with brass clasps and locked with a skeleton key."

It was then that back at the rally in the White House Ellipse, Trump announced that he was going to lead his supporters to the Capitol building. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) was responsible for the day's events as the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee.

"I thought it was the case that the president can come on the Senate floor anytime he wants to, but the president can come on the House floor only when invited," Blunt told Karl. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) didn't invite Trump to the House, nor was she about to. Blunt explained that if Trump was headed to the Capitol it would only be in the Senate, and members weren't there as they were headed to the House for the joint session that counts the Electoral College ballots.

A small group was already outside of the Capitol, but a large crowd of Trump's supporters was en route to the building. Around then, the FBI and Capitol Police responded to reports of explosive devices outside of the Democratic and Republican Party headquarters.

As the chambers were being evacuated, a Parliamentarian staffer had the wherewithal to save the ballots as they raced from the chamber, Karl recalled. Wherever the members and staff were evacuated, the ballots were with them. Karl explained that if the insurrectionists were able to steal the ballots they could always be replaced, but the Constitution is specific about votes being done by certain dates and signatures being received and authorized by certain dates. There's no legal framework to deal with what could unfold if the ballots were taken by the attackers. It would clearly go to the Supreme Court, he explained, but who would do that? What kind of lawsuit would be filed?

While the staffer ensured it didn't happen, after the insurrection it was discovered that a website that posts historical maps of the Capitol was being read all over the country.

A Washington, D.C. history website that posts photos, maps and other information about the Capitol saw a dramatic increase in readership in the days leading up to Jan. 6.

Elliot Carter, who runs the website WashingtonTunnels.com, was worried that people were trying to find escape routes or entry points to the building for the attack. His concern made its way to leadership in the U.S. Capitol Police.

"These people were suddenly obsessed with the Capitol building," Carter said in August.

While it's possible the attackers wanted to figure out escape routes for officials, the fact that the Parliamentarian's office was the most destroyed makes Karl think this was part of the plan all along.

"Betrayal" is on sale now.

[Rick Plant]

Feds seeks four years in prison for Capitol rioter 'QAnon Shaman'



The U.S. Capitol rioter nicknamed the "QAnon Shaman" for his horned head-dress faces a judge on Wednesday who could sentence him to more than four years in prison for his role in the deadly Jan. 6 attack by former President Donald Trump's followers.

Prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to impose a 51-month sentence on Jacob Chansley, who pleaded guilty in September to obstructing an official proceeding when he and thousands of others stormed the building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's election.

"Defendant Chansley's now-famous criminal acts have made him the public face of the Capitol riot," prosecutors said in asking for the 51-month sentence. That would be the stiffest imposed on any Capitol rioter, after a former mixed martial artist filmed punching a police officer during violence was sentenced last week to 41 months in prison.

Chansley's attorneys have asked the judge for a sentence of time served for their client, who has been detained since his January arrest.

While in detention, Chansley was diagnosed by prison officials with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. When he entered his guilty plea, Chansley said he was disappointed Trump had not pardoned him.

Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 riot for a fiery speech that preceded it in which he told his followers to "fight like hell."

Four people died in the violence. A Capitol Police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the day after the riot and four police officers who took part in the defense of the Capitol later took their own lives. About 140 police officers were injured.

Defense lawyer Albert Watkins said the U.S. Navy in 2006 had found Chansley suffered from personality disorder but nonetheless declared him "fit for duty."

https://www.rawstory.com/qanon-shaman-2655750452/

[Rick Plant]

'QAnon shaman' Jacob Chansley gets 41 months in prison for storming US Capitol



Jacob Chansley, the so-called "QAnon shaman," was ordered to spend more than three years in federal prison for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The 34-year-old Chansley wore a fur hat with horns and carried a spear when he stormed into the U.S. Capitol to protest Donald Trump's election loss, and Judge Royce Lamberth imposed the 41-month prison term recommended by prosecutors, reported HuffPost.

"If the defendant had been peaceful on that day, your honor, we would not be here," said assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall.

Chansley's attorney had argued for leniency, citing his client's mental health issues, but prosecutors pointed out that he left a threatening note for then-vice president Mike Pence and attempted to stop him from certifying President Joe Biden's election win.

The Arizona man had pleaded guilty in September to one felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding.

https://www.rawstory.com/jacob-chansley-capitol/

[Rick Plant]

The GQP Party is all in for sedition, treason, and insurrection! Another right winger has been caught partaking in an attempt to overthrow the US Government.

Former GOP candidate arrested after bragging he was a 'key player' in breaking police lines at MAGA riot



On Wednesday, WUSA9 reported that a former Republican candidate for the New York State Assembly has been arrested, along with his brother, after bragging on social media that he was "one of the key players" in breaking the Capitol Police line at the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"Arrest warrants for Gregory Purdy, his brother Matthew Purdy and a third defendant, Robert Turner, were authorized by a federal judge earlier this month," reported Jordan Fischer, Eric Flack, and Stephanie Wilson. "In addition to the four misdemeanor counts they all share, Gregory Purdy and Turner are additionally charged with civil disorder, obstruction and assaulting, resisting or impeding police."

The court documents state that Purdy travelled with members of his family to Washington D.C. for the January 6th "Stop the Steal" rally. Prosecutors allege that Purdy then led the charge against Capitol police officers trying to stop demonstrators from breaching the Capitol building.



MORE: The affidavit for Greg Purdy is now available. In it, the FBI says Purdy posted that he and his group were "key players" in the mob pushing past police barriers (which he calls "peaceful pushes"). In one post he wrote "peep my war cry." #CapitolRiot





According to the affidavit, Purdy said that he believed it was his job to "uphold the Constitution and do a f****** rebellion." He also boasted about the progress he was making against police officers, writing on social media, "This was after the last videos after we successfully got through their first force!!! Look at the f****** blood on the ground."

Purdy is far from the only politician to have participated in the attack. Former West Virginia state Rep. Derrick Evans resigned shortly after being elected when he was arrested for his involvement. Many others, including members of Congress like Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and Mo Brooks (R-AL), reportedly helped Trump plan the "Stop the Steal" rally which fed people into the riot.

https://www.rawstory.com/capitol-riot-arrests-2655751483/

[Rick Plant]

Trump and his allies are just as guilty as the QAnon Shaman: op-ed

In her column for the Washington Post this Thursday, Jennifer Rubin contends that the recent sentencing Jacob Chansley, also known as the "QAnon Shaman," to more than three years in prison for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol was "a direct rebuke to former president Donald Trump and his apologists."

But Rubin says former President Donald Trump was just as guilty, considering that he had beaten the drum for weeks, spread the "big lie" about a stolen election, and demanded his followers "stop the steal" as Congress was certifying the 2020 election's results.

"Penalties for the crimes committed that day are needed to send a message to purveyors of the Jan. 6 whitewash," Rubin writes. "District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth handed out a punishment at the low end of the sentencing guidelines. But his message was clear: 'What you did was terrible. You made yourself the epitome of the riot.'"

Rubin adds that is obvious that "the decline" of the GOP "has accelerated" since the Jan. 6. "With a handful of exceptions, the House Republican caucus has tried to prevent a full investigation of Jan. 6 and remains aligned with Trump."

Given that Trump and his allies are still denying the violent nature of Jan. 6, Rubin writes that "criminal investigation and prosecution must ensue for everyone involved to the extent that facts and the law allow."

Read her full op-ed at The Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/18/insurrectionists-are-finally-receiving-justice-gop-is-more-unhinged-than-ever/

[Rick Plant]

Lock her up!

REVEALED: Kimberly Guilfoyle bragged about raising millions for Jan. 6 rally

Series: The Insurrection
The Effort to Overturn the Election



Kimberly Guilfoyle, a top fundraiser for former President Donald Trump and the girlfriend of his son Donald Trump Jr., boasted to a GOP operative that she had raised $3 million for the rally that helped fuel the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

In a series of text messages sent on Jan. 4 to Katrina Pierson, the White House liaison to the event, Guilfoyle detailed her fundraising efforts and supported a push to get far-right speakers on the stage alongside Trump for the rally, which sought to overturn the election of President Joe Biden.

Guilfoyle's texts, reviewed by ProPublica, represent the strongest indication yet that members of the Trump family circle were directly involved in the financing and organization of the rally. The attack on the Capitol that followed it left five dead and scores injured.

A House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 has subpoenaed more than 30 Trump allies for testimony and documents, including Pierson and Caroline Wren, a former deputy to Guilfoyle. But Guilfoyle herself has so far not received any official scrutiny from Congress.

Guilfoyle's attorney, Joe Tacopina, denied that Guilfoyle had anything to do with fundraising or approving speakers. He said the text from Guilfoyle “did not relate to the Save America rally" on Jan. 6 and the “content of the message itself" was “inaccurate" and “taken out of context." He did not respond to additional questions asking about the accuracy and context of the message.

Reached by phone, Pierson declined to comment.

The text messages show that Guilfoyle expressed specific concerns that she might not be allowed to speak on stage at the Jan. 6 rally. Pierson responded that Trump himself set the speaking lineup and that it was limited to people he selected, including some of his children and Amy Kremer, a grassroots activist who organized the event.

Guilfoyle replied that she only wanted to introduce Trump Jr. and had "raised so much money for this."

"Literally one of my donors Julie at 3 million," she added.

Guilfoyle was referring to Julie Jenkins Fancelli, a Publix supermarket heir who Guilfoyle had developed a professional relationship with during the campaign.

Until now, Wren has been the only person identified as having worked with Fancelli. As ProPublica reported last month, Wren also boasted in private conversations with colleagues of raising $3 million for the events of Jan. 6.

It remains unclear whether that amount was really raised and, if so, how the majority of it was spent. Some of the money raised from Fancelli flowed to dark money groups that supported the rally, according to wire transfers described to ProPublica, planning documents and interviews with insiders.

In a statement from her attorney, Wren acknowledged helping to produce the rally but did not provide further details about her role in fundraising.

“To Ms. Wren's knowledge, Kimberly Guilfoyle had no involvement in raising funds for any events on January 6th," the statement said. “They were both present at a peaceful rally with hundreds of thousands of Americans who were in DC to lawfully exercise their first amendment rights, a primary pillar of American democracy."

The texts between Guilfoyle and Pierson and interviews with Trump officials also suggest that Guilfoyle attempted to influence the lineup of speakers scheduled to appear at the event.

On the night of Jan. 5, Trump Jr., Guilfoyle and Wren attended an event at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, where Trump donors mingled with prominent figures in the movement to overturn the election, according to interviews and social media posts from attendees.

Around the time of that event, Wren called rally staff and urged them to allow speaking roles for Ali Alexander, a far-right provocateur and leader of the Stop the Steal movement; Roger Stone, a former Trump advisor; and conspiracy theorist and InfoWars leader Alex Jones, according to a former campaign official who was told details of the call by people who listened to it.

Trump aides had already deemed the men too radical to go on stage, worrying they might embarrass the president.

During the call, Guilfoyle voiced her support for the controversial speakers, the former campaign official was told. She also specifically demanded that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who had sued to challenge election results in four other states, address the crowd. Alexander later said on a newscast that he also received a call from Guilfoyle that same evening.

Tacopina, Guilfoyle's lawyer, said she did not urge staffers to change the speakers. "Your contention that Ms. Guilfoyle approved a speaking list for January 6th is patently false," he wrote. He threatened to “aggressively pursue all legal remedies available" against ProPublica.

But the texts show Guilfoyle and Pierson talking about a “leaked" speaking list — an apparent reference to an article about the Jan. 6 rally published by the conservative news website Breitbart the day before.

That list included Alexander, Stone and Paxton, among others.

“All I know is that someone leaked a list of 'speakers' that the WH had not seen or approved," Pierson wrote. “I've never had so much interference."

Guilfoyle responded: “Yea and this the list we approved."

Tacopina did not answer further questions about what Guilfoyle meant in the text where she said "we" had approved a speaking list.

Untangling the relationship between Guilfoyle, Wren and Fancelli is key to understanding the financing of the events of Jan. 6.

In January 2020, Guilfoyle was appointed national chair of the Trump Victory finance committee, a leading fundraising vehicle for Trump's reelection campaign. She brought Wren on as her deputy.

Guilfoyle, through her relationship with Trump Jr., had access to the family and a certain star power that appealed to donors. Wren, by all accounts a relentless, high-energy worker, brought fundraising expertise and a Rolodex of wealthy Republicans willing to invest handsomely to keep Trump in office. The duo ultimately brought in tens of millions of dollars toward Trump's reelection.

The pair focused primarily on ramping up the campaign's “bundling" program, a method of fundraising that relies on volunteers collecting money from their personal networks.

Fancelli, a reclusive member of one of the country's richest families, was one of those volunteers, according to interviews and internal Trump Victory records. Splitting her time between Florida and Italy, Fancelli raised at least $72,000 from her friends and family.

She stood out to Wren and Guilfoyle, who in 2020 considered her for a role as Florida state co-chair for the bundling program, according to an internal Trump Victory planning document reviewed by ProPublica. The document highlighted Fancelli as a person Guilfoyle should contact personally.

Tacopina said Guilfoyle had never seen any such document "nor is aware of its supposed existence."

On or just before July 14, 2020, Guilfoyle called Fancelli directly, according to a different set of text messages reviewed by ProPublica. The next day, Fancelli made her largest federal political contribution to date, according to campaign finance records: $250,000 to Trump Victory.

By election night, she had chipped in $565,000 more, records show.

Tacopina did not address the July 2020 phone call in his statement and did not respond to questions about Guilfoyle's relationship with Fancelli. Fancelli did not respond to requests for comment.

After the election, Wren became the main fundraising consultant for a newly formed super PAC run by two of Trump Jr.'s closest aides. The super PAC, called “Save the US Senate PAC," placed ads starring Trump Jr. in which he encouraged Georgians to vote Republican in the bitterly contested runoff elections that would result in Democratic control of the Senate.

That PAC was primarily funded by LJ Management Services Inc., a company closely linked to Fancelli's family foundation. It gave $800,000 to the PAC in several installments, records show.

In late December, Wren became involved in the rally preparations for Jan. 6.

Wren told multiple organizers interviewed by ProPublica that she was carrying out the wishes of the Trump family. Some believed her and feared that defying her would upset the Trumps. Others suspected she was exaggerating.

“Caroline kept talking about her connections to Don Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle," said Cindy Chafian, a rally organizer who told ProPublica she was put in touch with Wren and Fancelli by Alex Jones. “I thought she was full of crap."

As ProPublica previously reported, Wren told Dustin Stockton, another rally organizer, that she had raised $3 million for Jan. 6 and “parked" funds with three Republican dark money groups supporting the rally.

In one case, Wren routed roughly $150,000 from Fancelli to the Republican Attorneys General Association's Rule of Law Defense Fund, which then purchased a robocall instructing Trump supporters to come to Washington and march on the Capitol after the president's speech. The robocall was purchased in order to satisfy the conditions of the donation, a person familiar with the transaction told ProPublica.

ProPublica also reported that Wren had pressured rally organizers to allow Jones and other far-right leaders to speak on stage before the president. The effort grew so intense and volatile that on the morning of Jan. 6, a senior White House official suggested rally organizers call the U.S. Park Police on Wren to have her escorted off the Ellipse. Officers arrived but took no action. Wren has previously declined to comment on the incident.

Around the same time, Guilfoyle sat with Trump and other members of his inner circle in the Oval Office and discussed the growing throngs outside, according to The Washington Post. “They're just reflecting the will of the people," she reportedly told the president. “This is the will of the people."

On stage later that morning, Guilfoyle gave a rousing speech introducing Trump Jr. “We will not allow the liberals and the Democrats to steal our dream or steal our elections," Guilfoyle told the crowd.

Trump Jr. then exhorted the crowd to send a message to the Republican members of Congress who “did nothing to stop the steal."

Trump Jr. did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Jones and Alexander left the rally early. Wren escorted the men away from the White House as they prepared to lead the march on the Capitol.

As the Capitol plunged into chaos later that day — police officers outnumbered and overrun, lawmakers huddled behind makeshift bunkers, tear gas enshrouding the building — Guilfoyle boarded a private jet.

She was off to Florida with at least two major Trump donors, Nebraska gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster and California entrepreneur Richard Kofoed, who had chartered the jet. The plane left Dulles International Airport at 3:47 p.m., according to aviation records. It dropped Herbster off on Florida's Amelia Island before heading for West Palm Beach. Wren listed both Kofoed and Herbster as her VIPs for the rally in planning documents. Planning documents show Cassidy Kofoed, Richard Kofoed's 23-year-old daughter, also worked with Wren on preparations for Jan. 6.

Herbster confirmed that he was on board the plane with Guilfoyle. Richard and Cassidy Kofoed did not respond to requests for comment.

In response to questions about the flight, Tacopina said that Guilfoyle lived with Kofoed and his wife at a rented property in Mar-a-Lago from approximately December 2020 through July 2021.

Guilfoyle has continued her role as a major Trump fundraiser. In October, she was put at the helm of Trump's super PAC, called Make America Great Again, Again!

https://www.propublica.org/series/the-insurrection