The group behind Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair flop has been accused of defrauding donors who wanted to give money to a rival organization.
A report from Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee outlines a series of allegations against the Trump-backed Freedom 250, which has been behind several other tacky, MAGA-esque events marking America’s 250th birthday.
Among the most serious claims is that donors who wanted to give money to America250—a bipartisan group created by Congress to organize and promote events celebrating the nation’s landmark birthday—were purposely misled and given wire instructions containing Freedom 250’s banking information so their funds would instead be redirected to the group backed by the president.
“I’m a lawyer, and I know better than to pronounce that a crime has been committed,” Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat and ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, told The Washington Post. “But I do know the elements of fraud, and there is evidence of all those elements here.”
The report also alleges that donors who intended to support America250 were pressured to give money to Freedom 250 instead.
Some prospective donors and sponsors who wanted to contribute to America250 were told by the Trump administration that they did not have a “green light” to do so, sources told House Democrats.
Freedom 250 is also accused of conducting an “aggressive outreach” campaign to America250’s corporate sponsors, including calling them and asking them to contribute millions of dollars to Freedom 250 as well.
The report says this tactic caused confusion, with some corporate executives unaware of the differences between America250 and Freedom 250.
Democrats allege that Freedom 250 may have violated several laws, including wire fraud and charitable solicitation fraud, through its alleged conduct.
“This so-called ‘report’ is nothing more than a partisan smear from politicians who would rather manufacture division than celebrate America’s 250th birthday alongside the rest of the country,” Freedom 250 spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez told the Daily Beast.
“Congressional members should be ashamed they are spending countless hours fabricating a report instead of joining Americans in creating an absolutely beautiful celebration. The claims are categorically false, and it’s disheartening that some in Washington are more interested in scoring political points than honoring our nation’s milestone. Freedom 250 remains fully committed to uniting Americans at this historic moment and giving all Americans a spectacular birthday they can be proud of—and we won’t be distracted by those rooting for it to fail.”
The allegations are the latest embarrassment for Trump surrounding Freedom 250.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that the president was left fuming after realizing how few people came to watch his speech on the National Mall last week to kick off the Great American State Fair.
The lackluster attendance, which continues to plague the fair, is now causing panic over whether Trump will also draw a similarly small crowd when he delivers his July 4 speech on the National Mall as part of the Independence Day celebrations. Freedom 250 is organizing what it hopes will be a record-breaking fireworks display after Trump’s speech.
Freedom 250 was also behind the tacky UFC event at the White House on June 14, which just so happened to coincide with Trump’s 80th birthday.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Huffman vowed that Democrats will investigate Freedom 250 if they regain control of the House in the midterms.
“If and when we have more tools at our disposal to do investigation and oversight, perhaps in the next Congress you will see a lot more information on this, I’m sure,” he said.
