A top adviser to Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman appeared to suggest in an email to various media outlets that the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump may have been “staged,” Semafor reported Sunday.

Dmitri Mehlhorn sent an email to a group of “sympathetic” journalists at 7:34 p.m. on Saturday encouraging them to consider the possibility that the shooting had been “staged” for the benefit of Trump, Semafor reported. Hoffman has donated millions to pro-Democrat political committees, funded lawsuits against conservatives and joked about killing the former president the day before the failed assassination attempt.

One “possibility — which feels horrific and alien and absurd in America, but is quite common globally — is that this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash,” Mehlhorn reportedly wrote to members of the press, according to Semafor. “This is a classic Russian tactic, such as when Putin killed 300 civilians in 1999 and blamed it on terrorists to ride the backlash to winning power.” (RELATED: Liberal Media Botches Initial Headlines, Downplaying Trump Assassination Attempt)

Mehlhorn, who Politico described as Hoffman’s “right hand man,” co-founded a fund called “Investing in US” with the Democratic megadonor, according to Semafor.

“I know I am prone to bias on this, but this is a classic Putin play and given the facts seems more plausible,” Mehlhorn continued in his email, Semafor reported. “Look at the actual shot. Look at the staging. Look at how ready Trump is to rally; this pampered baby shit his pants when an eagle lunged at his food. Look at how quickly Trump protects himself at the expense of others, but showed few of those lifelong instincts in this moment. And consider how often Putin and his allies run this play.”

Mehlhorn also criticized journalists for not actively entertaining the theory that the attack was staged, stating that their “credibility and our entire system of truth and justice depends on being certain of the answer,” according to Semafor. He did acknowledge in his email that there was a possibility that “some crazy anti-Trumper in this chaotic moment decided to assassinate the former President,” according to Semafor.

Mehlhorn told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he regrets having sent the email and that he did so without consulting his team, whom he apologized to.

“I also want to apologize publicly, without reservation, for allowing my words to distract from last night’s central fact: political violence took yet another innocent American life,” Mehlhorn told the DCNF. “We must unite in condemnation of such violence in every instance, without reservation. Any other topic is a distraction. Unfortunately I only talked with Reid after I sent that email. I agree entirely with his thoughtful post this morning. I join all America in demanding that we lose no more innocent lives to political violence.”

Hoffman, for his part, acknowledged and denounced the assassination attempt against the former president on X on Sunday.

Hoffman’s top adviser wasn’t alone in insisting that the assassination attempt was staged as the word “staged” trended on X in the hours following the attack, Semafor reported. “I know it feels yucky to discuss such a possibility. But in this case, the odds are so high, and the stakes so consequential, we must as[k] the question,” Mehlhorn reportedly wrote.

Hoffman did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Editor’s Note: This piece has been updated to include comment from Mehlhorn.

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