Photo Credit rating: Izayah Ramos
Data breach President Trump has referred the FireAid charity pressure to the Division of Justice (DOJ) for investigation amid public predicament that the funds raised haven’t reached their intended recipients.
This referral follows a proper ask from California Procure. Kevin Kiley, who confirmed the referral on Twitter the day past. “President Trump has responded to my name for an investigation into the FireAid concert, referring it to the Authorized knowledgeable Out of the ordinary,” Kiley confirmed in a publish on X/Twitter.
The FireAid match was as soon as a neatly-known particular person-studded concert held in January 2025 that raised over $100 million to support Los Angeles wildfire recovery. However neutral journalists and the general public gain wondered how the money was as soon as distributed. Organizers acknowledged the funds were routed via 188 non-profit organizations as intended, in arrangement to instantly to recipients. The primary functions of the distribution dwell tiny, with FireAid organizers citing a breakdown published by The Los Angeles Conditions.
A entire lot of these recipient organizations haven’t responded to media requests for comments or transparency across the usage of the grants. Among these are the Sonoma-based completely mostly “After the Hearth” and the California Native Vote Project, the latter of which returned the grant it bought after public scrutiny. Media outlets and watchdogs display that some non-earnings that bought grants gain missions most inspiring loosely in conserving with fireplace recovery or serve communities exterior of the rapid Los Angeles plan. The Sonoma valley lies spherical 409 miles remote from Los Angeles, north of San Francisco.
Organizers of FireAid gain maintained that the charity pressure was as soon as below no conditions intended to support people, however rather to accomplice instantly with non-earnings. Despite this defense, calls for transparency persist. Downstream charities akin to After the Hearth and the California Native Vote Project haven’t answered media inquiries from DMN or other media outlets, fueling extra predicament among donors and supporters who gave their money to beef up these that misplaced their livelihoods within the fires.
As the DOJ initiates its investigation, the stress on FireAid and its companions to provide obvious reporting and display the influence of their distributions continues to intensify. An neutral audit of FireAid’s funds is anticipated by 12 months-dwell, however lawmakers and donors are demanding sooner answers.
