A top fundraiser for former US president Donald Trump boasted to a Republican operative that she had raised $3 million for the rally that preceded the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
A series of text messages from January 4 obtained by ProPublica detail Kimberly Guilfoyle's fundraising efforts for the event and how she also pushed to include more far-right speakers to appear alongside Mr Trump.
The texts are the strongest indication to date that members of the Trump family's inner circle were directly involved in the financing of the “Stop the Steal” rally, the nonprofit investigative newsroom reported.
Ms Guilfoyle has been dating Donald Trump Jr since 2018.
Text messages also revealed that Ms Guilfoyle was aggrieved that she had not been asked to speak at the rally.
Katrina Pierson, the White House liaison for the rally, told Ms Guilfoyle that it was Mr Trump who set the limited speaking line-up.
Ms Guilfoyle replied she had wanted to introduce her boyfriend on stage and that she had “raised so much money for this".
“Literally one of my donors, Julie, at $3 million,” she said, in reference to Publix supermarket heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli.
It is unclear if that amount had actually been raised and, if so, how it was spent. Some of the money from Ms Fancelli went to “dark money groups” that supported the January 6 rally, ProPublica reported.
Ms Guilfoyle did, however, appear on stage the morning of the event to introduce Mr Trump Jr.
She also attempted to influence the speaker list by adding leader of the “Stop the Steal” movement Ali Alexander, former Trump adviser Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, all considered too radical by Trump aides.
No novice to fundraising, Ms Guilfoyle was appointed in January 2020 as the national chair of the Trump Victory finance committee, which raised money for the former president's re-election campaign.
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An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of former president Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. Reuters -
A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington. EPA -
Police detain a person as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol. AFP -
Protesters enter the US Capitol Building. AFP -
A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber. AFP -
US Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
Members of congress run for cover as protesters try to enter the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP -
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP -
Congress staffers hold up their hands while Capitol Police Swat teams check everyone in the room as they secure the floor of Trump supporters. AFP -
US Capitol Police stand detain protesters outside of the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits at a desk after invading the Capitol Building. AFP -
A protester sits in the Senate Chamber. AFP -
Pro-Trump protesters tear down a barricade as they clash with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results by the US Congress. Reuters -
Police hold back supporters of US President Donald Trump as they gather outside the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP -
A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber. AFP -
Riot police prepare to move demonstrators away from the US Capitol. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces, as they storm the US Capitol. AFP -
A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears a gas mask as he protests after storming the US Capitol. AFP -
Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol. AFP -
US President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter addressing rioters at the US Capitol, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda. AFP -
Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient. AFP -
A wounded protester is carried on barricade as demonstrators breach the US Capital building grounds. Bloomberg -
US Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. EPA -
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of the morning, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington. AP
A US House committee has to date ordered more than 30 of people close to Mr Trump to give evidence about information leading to the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon surrendered to authorities this week after he was indicted for defying a congressional subpoena.
The committee last week subpoenaed another 10 former Trump allies.
Six of these, including former senior adviser Stephen Miller and former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, were subpoenaed for reportedly scheming to overturn Mr Trump's electoral defeat at a luxury Washington hotel on the evening of the insurrection.
Ms Guilfoyle has not yet faced any scrutiny from Congress.
