MAGA groups lit millions on fire failing to find voter fraud: report

A new analysis reveals the true extent to which Trump-aligned groups spent money to hunt for voter fraud — with nothing to show for it.

According to CNBC's Brian Schwartz, "Trump’s false claims that he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden only as the result of widespread ballot fraud and other irregularities were the impetus for the creation of those nonprofit groups and political action committees. But a glaring problem for those groups has been the fact that federal and state officials have repeatedly debunked Trump’s claims of fraud. Another problem that doomed some of the groups was their failure to secure any fundraising help from Trump, the de facto leader of the Republican Party, who remains the chief promoter of false claims of widespread voter fraud in the United States."

A review of tax records by CNBC shows just how much some of these groups have spent, like Trump aide Brad Parscale's American Greatness.

"The nonprofit headed into 2023 with only about $195,000 on hand," notes Schwartz. "A year earlier, it raised $550,000 and spent all but around $50,000 of that, tax records show. American Greatness last year changed its name to the Jefferson Rising Fund, and was taken over by former Trump campaign aide Katrina Pierson."

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Another such group, the America First Policy Institute, actually managed to secure Trump's endorsement and raised $22 million afterward, but did little with the money other than "organize calls with other Trump-allied groups working on election issues." And the Election Integrity Network, founded by Trump ally Cleta Mitchell, "raised just over $753,000 and spent about $746,000 in 2022, which left the organization with up to $24,298 in assets entering 2023," leaving them with little resources to do anything.

No evidence has ever emerged that the election in 2020 was stolen in any of the states Trump has challenged.

Many of Trump's greatest election conspiracy theorist allies, like failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, are still running for office, although Lake has often been evasive on the Senate campaign trial when asked about her claims of election fraud.

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