That Eric Trump deputy, attorney Alex Cannon, worked closely to run American Made Media Consultants with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump daughter-in-law Lara Trump, and former campaign manager Brad Parscale.
Together, they built a campaign shell company so powerful and opaque that key Trump campaign aides feared what they might uncover if they learned too much about its operations, according to interviews with more than a dozen Trump advisors and Republicans close to the campaign.
Vast swaths of AMMC's spending still remain a mystery to the public and Trump's own campaign team, although Insider was able to uncover some of American Made Media Consultants' expenditures based on interviews and public documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The power and secrecy of the shell company has spurred calls for federal investigations, including requests filed by three Democratic lawmakers after Insider broke the news last week of Kushner and Lara Trump's involvement.
The shell company was originally created by the Trump kids & Parscale to protect Trump from exorbitant consultant fees & grifting accusations, many of which had been levied at Parscale for his dual role atop campaign & approving payments to himself, Trump advisors told Insider.
But as the campaign evolved during 2019 and into the 2020 sprint, AMMC was also used to make secret payments to Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., who doubled as the Trump campaign's national finance director.
It also facilitated large payments — not disclosed publicly — to top campaign strategist Jason Miller, through an arrangement with the campaign firm he worked for before joining the Trump campaign.
Now w/ Trump's loss clear to almost everyone except Trump, the campaign shell company has become a focal point for advisors lamenting what went wrong. Competing factions in Trumpworld are accusing each other of stealing from the president's campaign coffer via the shell company.
Insider broke the news Friday that Kushner helped create AMMC and picked Lara Trump and Vice President Mike Pence's nephew, John Pence, to serve on its board — facts unknown even to core Trump campaign operatives. Lara Trump is married to Eric Trump.
"The obfuscation raises so many questions," said one Trump advisor.
Whether Trump officials broke the law or will face any consequences remains to be seen. Any possible criminal charges would have to be decided on by prosecutors reporting to Joe Biden's Justice Department. Biden's transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
The Trump campaign's use of AMMC means the public has no clear idea how the Trump campaign & a sister committee spent about half of the $1.26 B it raised since Trump launched his reelection on the same day as his 2017 inauguration.
"I don't think people stole money with it, but I do think it was used to conceal payments to people who didn't want to show up on reports," a Trump advisor said of AMMC. "It was nothing illegal. But unseemly? Yes."
Other Rs said the shell company & the hiding of payments feels like Trump family members may have crossed a line. "With Trump it's all about him and money and everyone around him took it to the Nth degree," said one R close to the campaign. "It's truly a criminal enterprise."
NEW: The incoming Biden administration is poised to crack down on wealthy and well-connected lawbreakers, reversing years of decline in the federal government's enforcement of white-collar crime. by @LoopEmma in @Politicsinsider ($) ow.ly/LsVp50CTvxh
That would mark a sweeping shift for the Department of Justice compared to both recent Democratic and Republican presidents who have allowed prosecutions of white-collar crime to drop to an all-time low.
But as President-elect Joe Biden takes the reins in January, former federal prosecutors, academics, and lawmakers told Insider that there are two key reasons the new administration is well positioned to start reversing that trend.
NEW: President-elect Joe Biden's team is worried that President Donald Trump will force Biden to purge the outgoing commander in chief's political appointees who don't resign by Inauguration Day. by @rbravender ($) in @Politicsinsiderbusinessinsider.com/biden-trump-ap…
Having to fire a whole bunch of people on his first day on the job — though not illegal — wouldn't be a good look for Biden, who rode to victory with a promise to unify the country, a message he's expected to reiterate when he's sworn in on January 20.
Voluntary departures are standard & expected during a transition. The CoS for the outgoing president asks the roughly 4K political appointees to hand over resignation letters that take effect on Inauguration Day. That clears the way for the new POTUS to hire his own people.
It's one of many ways President Trump and his family are looking to cement their hold on the Republican Party with a series of moves aimed at putting themselves in influential places inside conservative circles.
Jared Kushner has discussed developing a media outlet. Lara Trump is looking at running for Senate in North Carolina. And even Kimberly Guilfoyle could find a home at NewsMax, Trump advisors said.
NEW: Biden has telegraphed his eagerness to move beyond Trump & not hamstring his own ambitious policy plans w/ what would be a historic federal action to prosecute the soon-to-be-former president & allies. But then there's the DOJ. by @davelevinthal ($) ow.ly/nxLv50CB5sg
Indeed, the US Department of Justice made clear by revelations in court filings Tuesday that a probe into an alleged presidential pardon "bribery conspiracy scheme" is very much scratching at the Trumpian wounds Biden seeks to mend.
It's a development that underscores the cold reality every president before Biden has faced: They sometimes can't control their own agenda.
NEW: Biden has leaned a lot on former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy for his healthcare & coronavirus planning. Now the 43-year-old doctor is on the short list to lead HHS, 8 people close to the transition told @Politicsinsider ($) by @leonardklow.ly/l2LU50Cptmf
Three of those sources said they'd been surprised Biden's team is considering Murthy for the job, given his lack of experience crafting policy or overseeing a major organization.
Despite his soft-spoken nature, Murthy has tangled with political controversies over the last decade — including with the nation's most powerful gun lobby — that could come back to haunt him.
NEW: Several prominent members of Congress & government reform groups say a 9/11 Commission-style bipartisan probe of the Trump admin's failings - aka a "truth commission" - is essential to overcoming them. by @davelevinthal@leonardkl & @KaylaEpstein ($) ow.ly/WC4a50CowNZ
This Trump truth commission could probe the White House's COVID-19 response, the government separating immigrant children from their parents, and the blurring of lines among Trump's governmental, political, and business interests, among other matters.
With the backing of Congress and the president, the commission could compel witness testimony, produce a public report, and offer recommendations for improving national governance.