Jan. 6 Report Says Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ Was ‘Big Rip-Off’

When the Jan. 6 Committee released its final report last month, it referred multiple criminal charges to the Justice Department, but one key focus of that investigation was relegated to an appendix: the possible fraud case related to the hundreds of millions of dollars that Donald Trump and his allies raised off “the Big Lie.”

While it’s unclear why the committee tucked this part of the investigation into an appendix, it’s not for lack of smoke. The DOJ reportedly folded the investigation into its larger Jan. 6 probe months ago, with CNN reporting in December that Special Counsel Jack Smith would be continuing that work.

But the strength of the case, which The Daily Beast laid out in July, is also clear from the report itself. While not directly alleging criminal activity, the appendix—titled “The Big Rip-Off: Follow The Money”—lays out in great detail what was already a compelling constellation of facts about what campaign officials knew about those fundraising efforts. And the report also lays out how that money was eventually spent.

Jordan Libowitz, communications director for government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, was stunned at the overall amount raised—about $250 million, all told.