Jack Smith may force Trump to pay back millions in donations, ex-FBI official says

‘When you raise millions based on a fraudulent claim, you’ve committed a crime. And, you just might have to give those millions back...’

Donald Trump may be eventually forced to return millions of dollars of campaign funds he raised after the 2020 elections on fraudulent claims, a retired FBI official said on Tuesday.

Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI assistant director, said it “isn’t over” for Mr Trump after he was indicted over alleged efforts to overturn 2020 election results in charges led by special counsel Jack Smith in federal district court in Washington DC.

“When you raise millions based on a fraudulent claim, you’ve committed a crime. And, you just might have to give those millions back... Special counsel still scrutinizing finances of Trump’s PAC,” Mr Figliuzzi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

His comments came on the heels of a Politico report which said investigators held a closed-door interview on Monday with Bernard Kerik, the disgraced ex-NYPD Commissioner who was pardoned by Donald Trump in 2020.

His lawyer Tim Parlatore told the outlet that Mr Kerik was quizzed with multiple questions on the enormous fundraising haul by Save America’s PAC in the weeks between Election Day and Jan 6 riots at the Capitol.

The special counsel has been long thought to have been focusing the investigation on whether Mr Trump or his PAC broke federal laws by soliciting funds based on false voter fraud allegations.

However, the recent indictment of Mr Trump does not contain any accusations of financial wrongdoing.

The report said the interview was the clearest indication yet of Mr Smith’s focus on fundraising and spending by Mr Trump’s political action committee.

“It’s a laser focus from Election Day to Jan. 6,” Mr Parlatore reportedly said.

Kerik, a longtime ally of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, was pardoned by the ex-president in 2020. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to eight felony charges involving tax fraud and making false statements to the federal government.