And some limits to irregular aggression, such as email from the Trump 2020 team, which punishes anyone who has not yet donated to the so-called “Election Defense Fund” of the incumbent president.
“This is your final notice. I have ignored all the emails asking you to join us in defense of the election so far. I have ignored the Trump team, Eric, Lara, Don and the Vice President and the President of the United States.
“Tens of thousands of Patriots climbed for the very first time in the past 48 hours – why didn’t they?”
For the nearly two weeks since the election, not only has Trump refused to accept defeat, but his team has been bombarding people with multiple emails daily asking for money to challenge the legality of Biden’s victory in the courts.
But the Election Defense Fund raises a number of concerns: partly about its true motives, and partly about the people it targets – some of them unlawfully.
US campaign finance laws make it clear that “campaigns may not seek or accept contributions from foreign citizens.”
The Federal Election Commission states on its website: “Federal law prohibits contributions, donations, expenditures, and expenditures that are requested, directed, received, or provided directly or indirectly by or from foreign nationals in connection with any election – federal, state, or local.”
However, fundraising spam has been sent out to people all over the world, including individuals who never requested to be on Trump’s email list in the first place. Some, like Australian Labor Representative Tim Watts, happen to be part of a foreign political party, which also goes against FEC rules.
Watts indicated on Twitter last week that “The Trump campaign has continued to send unwanted fundraising emails to my official email account for years,” and posted a screenshot of Trump’s request for donations from the Election Defense Fund. “This one just reached my inbox.”
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The stated goal of the fundraising campaign is also misleading. Click on any of the emails sent in recent days, and you will be taken to the Election Defense Fund webpage asking you to make a recurring donation to stop “fraud you haven’t seen before” and “make sure we have the necessary resources to protect the results” .
But fine details reveal that the initiative is effectively creating an unofficial Trump fund, as small donations are unlikely to go toward a recount at all.
In fact, if you donate anything under $ 5,000 ($ 6,877), 60 percent of your contribution will go to an entity called Save America, Trump’s new Political Action Committee (or PAC, as it is often known) that was created after the election and for him. Some discretion over how the funds will be used.
40 percent goes to the Republican National Committee, which is a political process rather than a legal entity.
Stephen Loosley, senior fellow at the Center for US Studies, says the lesson is simple: “Always read the exact letters” – especially if it’s about American politics.
Lozley says that while some may think their donation will help bring Trump’s legal team before a judge to challenge the election results, this particular fundraising effort is likely designed to build a pool of donors and build the campaign infrastructure in the future.
This future could include Trump, or even one of his clans, with another mile in the White House. While that may seem far fetched to some, Trump has already been reported to have told advisers he is considering running for the presidency again, according to a report last week by Jonathan Swan, a well-connected Axios correspondent.
“I’m sure we’re just starting to listen to Save America, and we’re just starting to envision the Trump family’s intent in 2024,” says Loosely, a former ALP senator in the Hawk and Keating governments.
The latest round of Trump’s random letters comes as the incumbent president continues to pursue a flurry of lawsuits seeking to overturn the November 3 poll result.
Some claimed technical errors or the inability of Republican “poll watchers” to reach. Others claimed that the dead were casting ballots, or that ballot papers arrived too late to be counted. However, none found evidence of widespread voter fraud.
If anything, Trump had a hard time raising his legal case at all. On Friday (US time), in the latest setback, a federal appeals court rejected an attempt by Trump’s attorneys to block about 9,300 mail-in ballots that arrived after Election Day in Pennsylvania.
In Arizona, a lawsuit seeking to check polls in Metro Phoenix was rejected after Trump’s attorneys conceded that the small number of votes involved would not alter the outcome in the state.
And in Michigan, a judge dismissed allegations that Detroit officials had committed fraud or misrepresented the count by their handling of absentee ballots.
As Democratic election attorney Mark Elias told reporters during a telephone briefing that day, “Trump’s legal strategy seems to be aimed at denying the inevitable.”
Even so, Trump remains unperturbed, at least publicly, as he maintains his base’s morale. This is crucial for Republicans in the run-up to Georgia’s all-important run-off election in January, which will decide who gets to control the Senate. Simply put, the Democrats, who control the House, need to turn the Senate over in order to easily implement Biden’s first-term agenda.
In a sign of their continued loyalty, thousands of Trump supporters took to Washington, DC on Saturday to protest the election result, and far-right groups like the Proud Boys joined them.
As for Trump, he drove by the march in his motorcade on his way to his golf course, while his campaign sent another fundraising email.
“We still have a long way to go if we are to successfully defend the integrity of our elections, and the president invites you to advance to the front lines,” she said. “Please contribute $ 5 immediately.”
Trump Biden 2020
Understand the election’s outcome and outcome through expert analysis by American reporter Matthew Knott. The signing of the Sydney Morning AnnounceNewsletter here, AgeHere , Brisbane Times‘Here and WAtodayHere.
Farah Tomazen is a prominent journalist covering the 2020 US presidential election.
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