Former President Donald Trump is circulating an email asking his supporters to sign a petition that denounces his potential upcoming arrest in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. But — as there usually is with anything connected to Trumpworld — there is one catch. Signing this petition leads people straight to a webpage where individuals are asked to give $3,300 or other suggested amounts of cash to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
“They’re trying to intimidate YOU and cancel out YOUR vote!” Trump team wrote in a Monday email to subscribers. “Which is why the Trump for President 2024 campaign is compiling millions and millions of petition signatures from Americans like you CONDEMNING these threats of a possible arrest.”
The email calls on “74 million patriots” to sign the petition.
Trump’s fundraising gimmick comes just days after Trump announced on Truth Social — his bootleg Twitter platform — that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday and called on his supporters to protest.
It is unclear where Trump got this information, though he claimed he learned some information from “ILLEGAL LEAKS.”.
No indictment has been confirmed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. But reports suggest the likely arrest will come on Wednesday when the grand jury investigating the $130,000 hush money payment Trump made to Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign to keep her quiet about an affair they had years before returns.
The email sent by the Trump team of course does not specify how the signatures and the petition would be used to help fight Trump’s indictment. But Trump is known for these kinds of shady calls to action as campaign fundraisers.
The petition link takes signee’s to a page asking for donations to “help DEFEND our America First movement during these dark times.” The message shows supporters can donate any amount, but suggests large sums like $500, $1,000, and $3,300.
It is unclear how many signatures the Trump team collected through the petition so far. But this is not the first time Trump has taken advantage of official acts to fundraise.
Most notably, Trump tried to raise funds for his campaign when the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago residence and when the Jan. 6 House select committee voted to subpoena him.
