 "Trump raised $255.4 million in 8 weeks in bid to overturn election")
Former US President Donald Trump and the Republican Party raised USD 255.4 million in the eight-plus weeks following the November 3 election, new federal filings show, as he sought to undermine and overturn the results with unfounded accusations of fraud.
The New York Times (NYT) reported that Trump's strongest fund-raising came in the immediate aftermath of the election, such as after major media organizations declared that Joe Biden had won on November 7. However, despite Trump and his legal team lost case after case -- in venues including the US Supreme Court -- his donors continued to give funds repeatedly.
It was further reported that more than two million contributions flowed into Trump, the Republican National Committee (RNC), and their shared accounts from November 24 through the end of the year.
The donations were made public over the weekend in a Federal Election Commission filing by WinRed, the digital platform that Republicans use to process online donations.
"Mr. Trump's campaign committee, joint committees with the R.N.C., and the new political action committee he formed after the election, Save America, will all file additional disclosures on Sunday with more details on spending and fund-raising," NYT reported.
Trump previously announced that he and the RNC had raised USD 207.5 million in the first month following the election.
The new records show that his fund-raising fell sharply in December compared with November, with an especially notable dip after December 14, the day the Electoral College formally cast its ballots to make Biden the 46th US president.
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According to the American newspaper, Trump and the R.N.C. had raised an average of USD 2.9 million every day online in the two weeks leading up to the Electoral College vote; in the two weeks after, the average was USD 1.2 million.
"The new figures capture almost all of Trump's online fund-raising, as he stopped raising money on January 6, the day on which he addressed a mob of supporters who then stormed the Capitol in a violent riot and on which Biden was formally ratified by Congress as the next president," NYT reported further.
Trump essentially ceased sending fund-raising pitches to his supporters, according to the newspaper. Late on Saturday, Trump abruptly parted ways with the lead lawyer, Butch Bowers, on his impeachment defense.
The US Senate formally opened the second impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump on Tuesday with the swearing-in of Senate President Pro-Tempore Patrick Leahy to preside over the process and the swearing-in of the senators to serve as jurors.
On Monday, the House of Representatives delivered the article of impeachment against Trump, accusing him of inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol building on January 6 to stop Congress from verifying President Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election.
The impeachment trial arguments will begin on February 9.