Kimberly Guilfoyle boasted about raising $3m for rally before Capitol riot, report says

Guilfoyle bragged about raising millions from single donor in one text

Former Trump Victory Committee finance chair Kimberly Guilfoyle (Getty Images)

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the former Fox News host now dating Donald Trump Jr, was personally involved in fundraising efforts for the rally attended by former President Donald Trump on the day of the Capitol siege, texts obtained by ProPublica show.

Ms Guilfoyle bragged about raising millions in one text, sent just two days before the riot occurred, to Katrina Pierson, a former Trump campaign spokeswoman. Ms Pierson was one of several subpoenaed by the House committee investigating the 6 January attack for her role in organising the rally outside of the White House at which Mr Trump directed crowds of his supporters to “fight” as Congress certified his election defeat.

In one text, Ms Guilfoyle said that she wanted to introduce her boyfriend onstage at the event, adding to Ms Pierson that she had "raised so much money for this”, according to ProPublica.

Another text claimed that one donor alone, “Julie”, had donated “3 million” for the event.

A lawyer for Ms Guilfoyle claimed that the content of that text and others was “inaccurate” in a statement to ProPublica, but did not elaborate on what Ms Guilfoyle was supposedly talking about if not the rally that occurred two days later. The attorney also had no explanation as to what other event at which she would ask to introduce her boyfriend, or why else she would be speaking to an organiser of the 6 January rally.

Ms Guilfoyle’s attorney also disputed the assertion that a text by his client reading “this is the list we approved” proved that she had a role in approving speakers for the rally, despite it being in response to a text from Ms Pierson which read: “All I know is that someone leaked a list of ‘speakers’ that the WH had not seen or approved,” according to ProPublica.

The Independent has reached out to Ms Guilfoyle’s attorney for further comment.

Neither Ms Guilfoyle nor Mr Trump Jr have been the targets of subpoenas by the House select committee tasked with investigating the 6 January attack on the Capitol thus far. Ms Guilfoyle’s newly reported role in the rally that day could change that, as the committee has already targeted a broad number of individuals associated with the event.

Ms Guilfoyle served as chair of the finance committee on the Trump Victory Committee, a joint fundraising effort launched by the 2020 Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.

She gave an impassioned speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention, and in a backstage video to Trump supporters the day of the Capitol attack she directed viewers to “have the courage to do the right thing, fight!” as a smiling Trump Jr. looked on.

Kimberly Guilfoyle before the insurrection rally,
“Have the courage to do the right thing, fight!”. pic.twitter.com/Z2jHvHZweD

— Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) January 7, 2021