NC donor wants millions returned after pro-Trump group drops election fraud cases
A political donor wants millions he gave to a pro-Trump group returned after it abandoned legal efforts to turn up fraud in the 2020 election.
North Carolina investor Fred Eshelman donated $2.5 million to Houston-based True the Vote to help the organization challenge election results in seven battleground states, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in a Texas federal court. The organization said it needed over $7.3 million for its Validate the Vote 2020 project.
Eshelman, a donor to President Donald Trump and former pharmaceutical executive, created the Eshelman Institute for Innovation at the University of North Carolina’s School of Pharmacy, which also is named for him.
Eshelman says he “regularly and repeatedly” asked for updates on the effort and was met with “vague responses, platitudes, and empty promises of follow-up that never occurred,” according to the lawsuit. True the Vote dropped lawsuits in four states last week, citing “barriers to advancing our arguments” and time constraints.
According to the lawsuit, True the Vote initially didn’t respond to emails by Eshelman seeking return of the funds and sought to delay giving back money. Then the organization’s attorney offered to return $1 million if Eshelman agreed not to sue, the lawsuit says.
In a statement to McClatchy News, Catherine Englebrecht, the founder and president of True the Vote, said the lawsuit is inaccurate and misrepresents the situation. The organization used Eshleman’s donation to create a whistleblower program, file the lawsuits and provide resources for “groundbreaking data analysis” of voter systems, Englebrecht said.
Englebrecht said Eshleman’s consultants asked the Truth the Vote to send $1 million to a private company, and the lawsuit was filed days after the organization disputed the invoice.
“When the consultants called us on November 5, it seemed like an answer to prayer,” Englebrecht said. “Now, it seems like a nightmare.”
Eshelman wants True the Vote to return his donation so the funds can be used in other efforts to challenge the results of the election.
President-elect Joe Biden captured 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 in the Nov. 3 election, according to The Associated Press. The Electoral College meets Dec. 14 to confirm the results, which are being contested by Trump and others. On Thursday, Trump said he will leave the office if the Electoral College declares Biden as the winner., CNN reported.
“Each day that passes makes it less likely that Plaintiff will be able to use the funds (True the Vote) is wrongfully withholding for the purpose he initially intended them to be used — that is, to support efforts to investigate allegations of illegal and fraudulent conduct in connection with the 2020 general election,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit seeks $2.5 million in damages and an order for the organization to stop spending funds from Eshelman.
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