Investigative Journalist Blew The Lid Off Alleged Trump Campaign Con, Claimed Ex-President’s Campaign “Drained” The Bank Account Of A Dying Man After He Donated $500

Oh. My. GOD.


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A while back, we covered a then-breaking, bombshell report from the New York Times, detailing what was essentially a scam by the Trump campaign to swindle individuals who had donated to his campaign out of several more donations that they did not knowingly agree to.

Ultimately, the report alleged that the ex-president’s campaign used manipulative digital marketing practices that pre-checked a box that signed donors up for recurring, weekly donations as well as a “money bomb” box that automatically doubled their donation. All of this was done without clearly labeling the donation landing page to inform donors of what they were doing or how much money they were about to fork out.

Following the NYT report that blew the lid off the shady scheme, the publication eventually reported that the Trump campaign was ultimately forced to return almost $13 million in donations that were connected to the shady fundraising scam.

Though the scam is sort of “old news” at this point, what with all the new, horrific things Trump and his people do on the daily, investigative journalist David Cay Johnston has further revealed what Donald and his campaign put some of his “victims” through in connection to the donations con — including allegedly “draining” the bank account of a dying man.

Appearing on MSNBC to discuss his upcoming new book, The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family, Johnston revealed that he calculated a staggering $1.7 billion in revenue that was acquired through Trump and his various organizations throughout the four long years of his presidential term.

Touching on the fundraising scam, MSNBC host Jason Johnson asked Johnston if he thought that those who are still forking over donations to the one-term, twice-impeached former guy were “victims” or “volunteers.”

“I figure at this point, if you’re getting fleeced by Donald Trump, there’s but so many times somebody can send you an email that says: ‘I’m a prince in a foreign country. Please send me 20,000.’ If you fall for it three times, don’t you almost deserve it?” MSNBC host Johnson asked.

The investigative journalist and author responded with a specific example of Trump’s scam, and how it affected the victim.

“There certainly are people I describe in the book who are victims, like a dying man who sent $500, half of his income for the month, and then the Trump campaign tapped his bank account until they drained it, and they did this to many, many, many people,” Johnston explained.

He went on to add that many of those who still support Donald Trump “have simply come to hate America” and are “very unhappy,” citing the fact that 90 percent of Americans had a smaller income in 2019 than in 1973 as evidence of his claim.

“So a lot of people are really unhappy about the conditions in America, and they see Donald as their savior, even though he has no capacity to do that,” Johnston explained. “He’s really out just to line his pockets, his family’s pockets, and in his administration, encourage others, including two cabinet secretaries I write about, to use the government to enrich themselves and their families, rather than serving the public in a position of trust.”

He goes on to note that the purpose of his book is to tie together the “loose threads” from all the various news reports during Trump’s term in office with the ultimate goal to “create a tapestry” that gives Americans a clear idea of “how they were doing this, what they were doing, why it’s inimical to your interests, and most importantly… there are actually solutions to this that I lay out.”

“Since Donald Trump left office, it’s very clear that what he’s doing is he’s become America’s beggar in chief,” the author noted. “That’s how he makes his living, and he’s going to need a lot of it once he’s indicted to pay criminal defense lawyers.”

You can watch his MSNBC appearance right here:

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