It was alot more sinister and criminal than just fraud.
Yep.
They basically tried to set the narrative of rural, white, misogynist, racist, antisemitic, uneducated, white males conspiring to overthrow the government because of the profile
they constructed, ready at the drop of a hat to engage in domestic terrorism.
It was almost completely fiction, in so many ways.
But for every million people who have their stuff together, there are always a few who can be goaded (and paid) enough to play the part while increasing a sense of self-importance, and those make headlines...all according to plan.
They spent decades selling that same narrative to three letter agencies and acting as experts in front of Congress, while playing their well-meaning donors for suckers.