GOP schism erupts over whether to keep paying 'convicted fraudster's' consulting firm

Republican campaign committees are divided over whether to keep using a consulting firm headed up by a "convicted fraudster," NOTUS' Dave Levinthal reported on Wednesday.

"The Trump National Committee Joint Fundraising Committee’s apparent breakup with the firm coincided with NOTUS detailing on Oct. 31 how Better Mousetrap Digital is led by Jack Daly, a political operative who pleaded guilty in 2023 to defrauding thousands of conservative political donors," said the report.

Other Republican-affiliated groups and candidates followed suit, noted the report: "The Republican National Committee joined the Trump committee, which did not respond to requests for comment, in seemingly ditching Daly’s firm" — and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) cut ties as well.

However, many others are sticking by Better Mousetrap. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is continuing to work with the firm, as are the campaigns of embattled swing-district Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) and Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX).

This comes amid a broader issue of Republicans trying to grapple with which right-wing groups are genuine and which are running scams, which has been bubbling under the surface for years.

In 2020, just after President Donald Trump was denied re-election, a scam organization called Stop the Steal PAC cashed in heavily on Trump's election conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, questions have mounted about the legitimacy of far-right activist Scott Presler's massively well-funded voter registration operation, as data shows it had minimal to no effect on turnout in Pennsylvania despite Presler's repeated claims he delivered the state for Republicans.