By — Bella Isaacs-Thomas Bella Isaacs-Thomas Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-big-lie-about-elections-was-also-a-big-ripoff-jan-6-committee-members-says Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Trump’s ‘big lie’ was also a big fundraising ripoff, Lofgren says in Jan. 6 hearing Politics Jun 13, 2022 12:54 PM EDT False claims about fraud in the 2020 election were used to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from Trump supporters, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said during an opening statement on the second day of hearings for the Jan. 6 hearing on June 13. Watch Lofgren’s remarks in the player above. Lofgren said that Monday’s hearing would present evidence that both former President Donald Trump and his closest advisors knew his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him were not true. WATCH: Jan. 6 committee hearing – Day 2 “Former President Trump’s plan to overturn the election relied on a sustained effort to deceive millions of Americans with knowingly false claims of election fraud,” Lofgren said. “All elements of the plot relied on convincing his supporters about these false claims.” Lofgren said that the Trump campaign was able to use “these false claims of election fraud to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from supporters who were told their donations were for the legal fight in the courts.” She added that “the big lie was also a big ripoff.” The attack on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 was a “direct and predictable” result of Trump’s choice to spread lies about the outcome of the election in an attempt to “cling onto power,” she said. The hearing was the second of several planned by the Jan. 6 committee that focused on how Trump actively spread false information about the 2020 election outcome – what has become known as the “big lie” – in the run up to the Jan. 6 insurrection. In the year since its creation, the committee has conducted more than 1,000 interviews, seeking critical information and documents from people witness to, or involved in, the violence that day. By — Bella Isaacs-Thomas Bella Isaacs-Thomas Bella Isaacs-Thomas is a digital reporter on the PBS NewsHour's science desk. @bella_is_
False claims about fraud in the 2020 election were used to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from Trump supporters, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said during an opening statement on the second day of hearings for the Jan. 6 hearing on June 13. Watch Lofgren’s remarks in the player above. Lofgren said that Monday’s hearing would present evidence that both former President Donald Trump and his closest advisors knew his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him were not true. WATCH: Jan. 6 committee hearing – Day 2 “Former President Trump’s plan to overturn the election relied on a sustained effort to deceive millions of Americans with knowingly false claims of election fraud,” Lofgren said. “All elements of the plot relied on convincing his supporters about these false claims.” Lofgren said that the Trump campaign was able to use “these false claims of election fraud to raise hundreds of millions of dollars from supporters who were told their donations were for the legal fight in the courts.” She added that “the big lie was also a big ripoff.” The attack on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 was a “direct and predictable” result of Trump’s choice to spread lies about the outcome of the election in an attempt to “cling onto power,” she said. The hearing was the second of several planned by the Jan. 6 committee that focused on how Trump actively spread false information about the 2020 election outcome – what has become known as the “big lie” – in the run up to the Jan. 6 insurrection. In the year since its creation, the committee has conducted more than 1,000 interviews, seeking critical information and documents from people witness to, or involved in, the violence that day.