Liberty University‘s Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Analytics, John Gauger, was reportedly paid thousands to rig polls for Donald Trump, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
“In early 2015, a man who runs a small technology company showed up at Trump Tower to collect $50,000 for having helped Michael Cohen, then Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, try to rig online polls in his boss’s favor before the presidential campaign,” the Journal states.
“In his Trump Organization office, Mr. Cohen surprised the man, John Gauger, by giving him a blue Walmart bag containing between $12,000 and $13,000 in cash and, randomly, a boxing glove that Mr. Cohen said had been worn by a Brazilian mixed-martial arts fighter, Mr. Gauger said.”
It appears Gauger was never paid in full, although records show Cohen requested a $50,000 check be cut for the Liberty University VP.
Gauger, who runs a small tech firm called RedFinch Solutions, tried, unsuccessfully, to rig a CNBC poll and a Drudge Report poll.
The Journal also reports Cohen asked Gauger to create a Women For Cohen Twitter account, that would praise the now-former Trump attorney as a “sex symbol.”
Trump has strong ties to Liberty University, the Christian university now run by Jerry Falwell Jr., whose endorsement allowed Trump to raise his profile among Christian Evangelicals. Far right extremist Christians have become a critical component of Trump’s base.