Trump Goon Admits MAGA Donors Promised Secrets Were Duped
It was not the first time that Trump’s questionable fundraising has come under scrutiny.
One of Donald Trump’s most loyal intelligence officials has admitted that the President’s supporters were indeed misled—and induced to donate to his campaign—based on a false promise of access to his private national security briefings.
This revelation comes from CIA Director John Ratcliffe and follows sharp criticism directed at Mr. Trump regarding a fundraising email deemed “shameless,” which featured a photograph of the President attending a solemn repatriation ceremony in honor of six fallen soldiers.
This email—sent by one of the President’s political fundraising committees—also sparked widespread controversy because it promised, in exchange for donations, access to the “President’s private national security briefings.”
Mr. Trump’s supporters were urged to donate in order to “secure a spot” within what was described as an exclusive group, intended to receive updates and “behind-the-scenes information” directly from the President himself.
The document stated: “As a member of the National Security Briefing Group, you will receive my private national security briefings as well as unfiltered updates regarding the threats facing America.”
The document added: “You will get the unvarnished truth about border invasions, foreign adversaries, sabotage perpetrated by the ‘Deep State,’ and all the dangers that ‘Fake News’ attempts to conceal. You will receive exclusive, first-hand information directly from me—President Trump: the Commander who rebuilt the greatest military in history and who put ‘America First’ like no one before him.
” This message was sent by “Never Surrender Inc.,” a political action committee (PAC) that ended last year with nearly $50 million in cash on hand, according to filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
However, Mr. Ratcliffe—who briefs Mr. Trump on national security threats in his capacity as CIA Director—revealed this week, under oath, that donors had in reality never received the national security briefings they had been promised.
“I don’t know what that document is,” Mr. Ratcliffe told the Senate Intelligence Committee, in response to questions from Democratic Senator Mark Kelly. “But regardless of what it says, it never happened.”
He added: “The Hatch Act prohibits me, in my non-partisan capacity, from engaging in such activities. And I am not aware of any instance of this nature that actually took place.”
Yet, this is not the first time Mr. Trump’s controversial fundraising practices have come under scrutiny. In the weeks following the attack of January 6, 2021, his campaign and affiliated groups sent a deluge of emails urging supporters to “defend election integrity”—an initiative that allowed them to raise tens of millions of dollars.
However, congressional investigators subsequently discovered that a significant portion of these funds had been diverted to a leadership PAC named “Save America,” rather than being dedicated to legal challenges, as had been claimed to donors.
Mr. Trump also faced fierce outrage sparked by the “Election Defense Fund” he had launched—a fund which, according to the House Select Committee on January 6th, did not officially exist.
Fundraising emails repeatedly cited this fund as a vehicle intended to challenge the results of the 2020 election; however, investigators stated that the structure described to donors was deceptive and that this tactic was part of a broader strategy to profit from false claims of widespread election fraud.
However, the most recent fundraising appeal—which featured a photograph of Trump wearing a baseball cap during a ceremony honoring soldiers killed in action in the conflict with Iran—proved particularly controversial.
Reacting to the matter, the office of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom wrote: “Donald Trump is fundraising off of dead soldiers. He is a deeply SICK and DISGUSTING MAN!”
Senator Andy Kim, a representative from New York, added: “I hope the national security briefing provided to donors does not gloss over the section regarding the phrase ‘Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz’—a detail that both Trump and Hegseth seem to have overlooked.”
In his capacity as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Ratcliffe sits on Trump’s National Security Council; he stood alongside the President earlier this year when the latter authorized strikes against Iran and Venezuela.
However, Ratcliffe was not the only Trump administration official questioned about this email during the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing held this week.
The Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, also faced incisive questions from Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Jon Ossoff.
Holding up a printed copy of the document, Kelly addressed Gabbard, stating: “This document refers to ‘unredacted updates.'”
He continued: “Director Gabbard, do you have any comment regarding whether ‘unredacted updates’—drawn from private national security briefings—should be shared with private individuals making donations to the President?” She replied: “I have no knowledge of this document.”
