Who founded Meidas Touch? Here’s why the PAC started #IndictTrump trend on Twitter
For months, anti-Trumpers have been hoping the Manhattan DA's investigation into the Trump Organization would lead to an indictment against the former President. In late June, prosecutors charged the company's CFO Allan Weisselberg, marking the first major action against Trump since his impeachment. However, the former President remained untouched, which has led to a new social media campaign with the hashtag #IndictTrump by Meidas Touch.
Calls to indict Trump have long made the news, even before he became President. Some people wanted him jailed over the Stormy Daniels affair, but it never happened, with Michael Cohen going to jail instead. Then came the Robert Muller investigation, but Trump got away again. After that, we had the impeachments, but both times the GOP backed Trump and he faced no consequences. There is hope he may be named for his role in the January 6 insurrection, but so far that seems more like a dream than reality.
READ MORE
What is MeidasTouch? Meet the PAC that is leading the charge to get Trump out of White House
The Manhattan DA's investigation was the closest we have gotten to getting an indictment against Trump. The case is far from closed, Weisselberg is expected to be the first of many charged in connection with the Trump Organization's tax evasion scheme. That's why Meidas Touch is now amping up the pressure, with its new campaign. Is this an actual effort to get accountability, or is it another bit of partisan politics? Here's what we know about the Political Action Company (PAC) and who's behind it.
Who founded Meidas Touch?
The PAC isn't a new one. It was formed in March 2020, with the sole purpose of stopping Donald Trump from winning the 2020 Presidential Election. The PAC is run by the Meiselas family, notably the three brothers. If that name does sound familiar it should. One of the brothers behind the PAC is Ben Meiselas, who famously represented Colin Kaepernick in his NFL lawsuit. Apart from that high-profile case, Ben also represented the class-action suit against Fyre Festival organizer Billy McFarland. Beyond that, Ben also serves as general counsel for Ice Cube’s Big3 basketball league and is leading a billion-dollar class-action against CenturyLink.
The other two behind the PAC are Ben's brothers Brett and Jordan. A marketing and media expert, Brett previously served as the head of the post-production on the Ellen DeGeneres show. A Syracuse and Uni of Southern California alum, Brett has also worked on numerous music videos, most notably Hoodie Allen's 2013 hit 'Cake Boy' and 'Tell Me What You Want From Me' by Good Old War in 2015. It's unclear what his exact role at Meidas is, his LinkedIn profile simply lists him as a co-founder. He is also reportedly a two-time Emmy award winner.
Little is known about Jordan, who appears to be into podcasting, judging by his Instagram and Twitter profiles. The Meidas website simply lists him as a "marketing account supervisor based in New York City." We found a LinkedIn profile matching that description, but cannot confirm if it belongs to the same person. That account says Jordan is currently working at Translation LLC and has previously worked with Red Felt Productions and Bad Boy Entertainment.
So how did the three brothers, with such varied careers decide to join forces and enter politics? It all started with the lockdowns in 2020. "We just couldn’t do nothing as we saw the country falling apart and Trump lying about it every day," Ben told Variety. He added, "Now, rather than spending an hour being angry, we’re angry for five minutes and then get to work." The PAC started off as a blog before Brett's videos really took off. Inspired by John Stewert and Stephen Colbert, Meidas Touch began packing a punch with its short videos targeting Trump.
Meidas' history of anti-Trump campaigns
During the bitter 2020 campaign, the PAC released numerous anti-Trump videos, targeting others in Trump's orbit. In June, they released a video targeting Ivanka Trump. Weeks later, they slammed Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, and others with another video. That video ended with the PAC calling for voters to boot out 11 Republicans.
On June 12, Meidas released a "supercut" of Trump's rhetoric, leading to #uglyPresident trending on Twitter that day. From the past, it is clear Meidas knows how to hijack social media, which is why it is of little surprise they managed to get #IndictTrump trending with their latest video. Ending with the phrase case closed, the latest campaign calls on social media to trend the hashtag for Trump's past claims about being a "tax expert".
📺 NEW VIDEO
— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) July 7, 2021
Tax expert Donald Trump is about to go through some things. #IndictTrump pic.twitter.com/gxja1POVbU
It didn't take long for the rest of Twitter to join in. "How many laws does Trump have to break to finally be indicted?" one user asked. Another said, "Indict the whole damn fam." One person tweeted, "You can hate Trump and still love your country. They ARE two different things."
How many laws does Trump have to break to finally be indicted? #indictTrump
— WendySpirit (@WendyDay5013) July 8, 2021
pic.twitter.com/NufMqWx3uc
You can hate Trump and still love your country. They ARE two different things. #IndictTrump
— The Voice Of Rican (@portarican_RT) July 8, 2021
Another replied to the video, "He knows more about tax evasion than anyone God created and that’s a fact." Another claimed, "#IndictTrump is required if we are going to save this nation!"
He knows more about tax evasion than anyone God created and that’s a fact.
— Imsickofallthisshit (@Kushbae112) July 8, 2021
#IndictTrump is required if we are going to save this nation! https://t.co/vvU9YQoZjq
— Liz Folio (@lfolio) July 8, 2021
At the time of reporting, Meidas' #IndictTrump campaign was amongst the top five trends in the US, and Canada as well. This isn't expected to be the last we hear of the PAC, which is funded by donations. Further videos and campaigns could be coming as the case against the Trump Organization mounts, and the 2022 midterms are around the corner.