Donald Trump and his allies raised $250 million for a nonexistent Official Election Defense Fund after the 2020 presidential election, but instead the money went to his newly created Save America PAC. That PAC distributed millions of dollars to pro-Trump organizations, including his own hotel properties and the company that produced the Ellipse rally outside the White House that preceded the attack on the Capitol.

On the last day of his presidency, Trump pardoned former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon after he was charged by federal prosecutors for allegedly defrauding donors to his We Build the Wall Inc., which claimed to be raising money to build a barrier along the border with Mexico. Bannon was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on state charges for allegedly siphoning off money from the fund for his own personal use.

And that brings us to former Trump aide and disgraced retired Gen. Michael Flynn. He had his own legal defense fund set up in September 2017, which was administered by family members. At the time, Flynn was under investigation as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.