
Democratic donor Dmitri Mehlhorn, who suggested the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was staged, has visited the Biden White House at least ten times, according to visitor logs. Mehlhorn, an advisor to Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman, has met frequently with aides to White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and senior adviser Anita Dunn.
Following the attack on Trump, Mehlhorn circulated a memo to journalists implying that the shooting was a false flag operation. He speculated that the event was “encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash.” He also asserted that any Trump officials aware of the attack should be condemned as unfit.
Authorities identified Thomas Matthew Crooks as the shooter, but have yet to determine his motive. Crooks, positioned on a building 150 yards from the rally, fired multiple shots, hitting Trump and killing Corey Comperatore, a firefighter.
Mehlhorn’s conspiratorial remarks bring scrutiny to his frequent White House visits, particularly in light of the administration’s stance against Republican conspiracy theories. Visitor logs reveal Mehlhorn and Hoffman met with Katharine Reilly, an aide in the chief of staff’s office, and had three meetings with Jordan Finkelstein, a senior aide to Dunn. Mehlhorn also met with political office officials Sabrina Bousbar and Jorge Santiago-Moreno.
The White House did not provide a comment, but some Biden advisers reportedly view the incident as a chance for Biden to appear presidential and promote national unity. Mehlhorn later apologized for his comments, saying they were written without consulting his team.
Mehlhorn has worked with Hoffman on several anti-Trump projects, including funding E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault lawsuit against Trump and supporting Project Birmingham, a controversial initiative that used fake social media accounts to discourage Alabama Republicans from voting in the 2017 Senate election.