Donations Under $8k To Trump Election Defense Instead Go To President Rnc
By Jarrett Renshaw, Joseph Tanfani
9 Min Read
– As President Donald Trump seeks to discredit last weeks election with baseless claims of voter fraud, his team has bombarded his supporters with requests for money to help pay for legal challenges to the results: The Left will try to STEAL this election! reads one text.
But any small-dollar donations from Trumps grassroots donors wont be going to legal expenses at all, according to a Reuters review of the legal language in the solicitations.
A donor would have to give more than $8,000 before any money goes to the recount account established to finance election challenges, including recounts and lawsuits over alleged improprieties, the fundraising disclosures show.
The emailed solicitations send supporters to an Official Election Defense Fund website that asks them to sign up for recurring donations to protect the results and keep fighting even after Election Day.
The fine print makes clear most of the money will go to other priorities.
A large portion of the money goes to Save America, a Trump leadership PAC, or political action committee, set up on Monday, and the Republican National Committee . Under Federal Election Commission rules, both groups have broad leeway in how they can use the funds.
The Trump campaign, the RNC and Trumps new Save America PAC did not respond to requests for comment.
Trumps solicitation website carries a banner headline that says OFFICIAL ELECTION DEFENSE FUND and CONTRIBUTE NOW.
Timothy Mellon Pan Am Systems $10 Million
An heir to the Mellon banking fortune and the grandson of former U.S. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, his is among the biggest donations this election cycle. He owns the largest regional railroad in North America, Pan Am Railways, which went up for sale in July. Hes been notably reclusive and absent from politics. Republican operatives reportedly had to look his name up on Google when he came forward to help.
Solicitation Of Donations Without A License
Under New York State law, a not-for-profit foundation must register as a “7A Charitable Organization” if it plans to solicit outside donations over $25,000 in any year. The Trump Foundation was initially registered as a private foundation set up solely to receive his own personal donations. As long as it was private and did not solicit outside funds, it did not have to file annual audited reports with the New York State Charities Bureau. However, records show that Trump began soliciting donations at least as early as 2004 and possibly as early as 1989.
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Hes Taking His Show Back On The Road And Bringing A Special Guest
In an uncharacteristicallyprecedented post-presidential move, Donald Trump is going on tour. Hell make four stops in Texas and Florida this December, sitting down with former Fox News host Bill OReilly to discuss exactly how things were accomplished, as well as challenges, both good and bad, during the four years of Mr. Trumps presidency. Regular tickets to the History Tour will cost between $100-$300, but superfans can purchase a VIP Meet & Greet Package for upwards of $8,500 if they want to attend a 45-minute pre-show reception and get a picture with the two men, who have both been accused of sexual harassment.
Per Politico, the Trump-OReilly dynamic duo are struggling to fill seats. We have concerts that are doing a lot better than this, a source told the website, noting that Bad Bunny and Kane Brown concerts at the same venue in Orlando have already sold out. Meanwhile, 60-65 percent of the Houston seats remain empty, and sales for the Sunrise, Florida, event havent met expectations. Bill OReilly these claims bullshit and threatened to sue Daniel Lippman, the author of the Politico piece.
Sacred Stone Legal Defense Fund
Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe have filed a lawsuit against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which will both destroy sacred grounds and likely poison the tribe’s water supply. Unfortunately, the CEO of the pipeline company told NBC News that he’s “100 percent sure” the Trump administration will approve the pipeline. Here’s how to contribute to the legal defense effort and Stand With Standing Rock.
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Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a nonprofit focused on advocacy surrounding civil rights. The SPLC is especially well-known for defeating white supremacist groups in court, something particularly relevant now that Trump has appointed Steve Bannon, who is associated with white nationalism, as his chief strategist. Here’s how to donate to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
This list is just a start there are plenty of other ways to get politically involved and oppose unjust or discriminatory policies proposed by the Trump administration, whether on a local or national level. Here’s to making a difference!
Trump’s Fundraising Extends Massive $122 Million War Chest
He raised $51M in the second half of 2021, down from $82M in the first half.
Former President Donald Trump announced Monday night that his political committees raised more than $51 million over the second half of last year, to buttress what is now a massive $122 million war chest.
Trump’s latest fundraising haul is a drop from the first half of last year, when his various committees together raised a total of $82 million from January through June of 2021.
It is possible that the $82 million sum Trump’s team announced for the first half of last year included transferred money raised in the final weeks of 2020, though the exact amount transferred from the previous year is unclear.
Trump’s war chest puts him in a uniquely strong position heading into the 2022 midterms and ahead of a potential 2024 presidential run.
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How Trump Steered Supporters Into Unwitting Donations
Online donors were guided into weekly recurring contributions. Demands for refunds spiked. Complaints to banks and credit card companies soared. But the money helped keep Donald Trumps struggling campaign afloat.
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Stacy Blatt was in hospice care last September listening to Rush Limbaughs dire warnings about how badly Donald J. Trumps campaign needed money when he went online and chipped in everything he could: $500.
It was a big sum for a 63-year-old battling cancer and living in Kansas City on less than $1,000 per month. But that single contribution federal records show it was his first ever quickly multiplied. Another $500 was withdrawn the next day, then $500 the next week and every week through mid-October, without his knowledge until Mr. Blatts bank account had been depleted and frozen. When his utility and rent payments bounced, he called his brother, Russell, for help.
What the Blatts soon discovered was $3,000 in withdrawals by the Trump campaign in less than 30 days. They called their bank and said they thought they were victims of fraud.
It felt, Russell said, like it was a scam.
Contributors had to wade through a fine-print disclaimer and manually uncheck a box to opt out.
It should be in textbooks of what you shouldnt do, he said.
Us House Judiciary Committee Investigations
On September 13, 2016, all fifteen Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, then in the minority, sent a letter to Attorney GeneralLoretta Lynch requesting that the Justice Department launch a criminal investigation of Trump in connection with his foundation’s $25,000 grant to Pam Bondi’s campaign. The letter specifically cited possible violations of two anti-bribery laws.
On March 4, 2019, new House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler issued a subpoena to the Trump Foundation for copies of a broad range of documents it had previously delivered to Robert Mueller’s office or any other domestic law enforcement agency on or after November 8, 2016, the day of Trump’s election. The request specifically focused on domestic emoluments and contact with Russia-related entities or people.
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Rnc Defends Use Of Trumps Name In Its Fundraising
Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference on Feb. 28 in Orlando, Fla.
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WASHINGTON The Republican National Committee is defending its right to use former President Donald Trumps name in fundraising appeals after he demanded they put an end to the practice.
In a Monday letter to Trump attorney Alex Cannon, RNC chief counsel J. Justin Riemer said the committee has every right to refer to public figures as it engages in core, First Amendment-protected political speech and said it will continue to do so in pursuit of these common goals.
But he maintained that Trump had also reaffirmed to the chair of the RNC, Ronna McDaniel, over the weekend that he approves of the RNCs current use of his name in fundraising and other materials, including for our upcoming donor retreat event at Palm Beach at which we look forward to him participating.
Trump responded to the letter with a statement that put that agreement in doubt. No more money for RINOS, or Republican in name only, he stated. They do nothing but hurt the Republican Party and our great voting base they will never lead us to Greatness. He instead again urged his supporters to send their contributions directly to his own Save America PAC by using his personal website, adding, We will bring it all back stronger than ever before!
Despite the letters, the RNC and others have continued to fundraise off of Trumps name.
More: Trump Suggests Pence Should Have ‘overturned’ 2020 Election
Over the past year, Trump has been fundraising with numerous allies through various vehicles, including his Save America PAC and his presidential campaign committee-turned PAC, Make America Great Again PAC.
Save America, in particular, was set up as a leadership PAC, which is designed to allow former and current lawmakers or prominent political figures to raise money and boost their allies, often with the purpose of advancing their political influence.
Last year, Save America raised $700,000 in a joint fundraising operation with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. More recently, the PAC raised roughly $202,000 with Trump-endorsed Florida House hopeful Anna Paulina Luna, new disclosure filings show.
Save America had also raised massive sums with the Republican National Committee in the weeks following the 2020 election, but the two have since stopped officially fundraising together. The RNC and other GOP party committees, however, continue to frequently appeal to donors by using Trump’s name in fundraising emails and messages.
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Hes Asking His Supporters To Keep The Cash Coming
Trump is still soliciting political donations, although its unclear what he needs the money for. At the top of his website, it says, Together, we are rebuilding our nation above a link where one can donate to the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. After selecting the amount you want to give, a box to make it a recurring donation is automatically checked. This has gotten Trump into a little trouble previously hes had to refund $122 million to his supporters who unwittingly checked the box, thus far. Hes also soliciting donations to this PAC via text message and email. Olivia Nuzzi, New Yorks Washington correspondent, said that she has received 19 fundraising texts in the last seven days.
Hes Patronizing His Own Businesses
Trump is funneling some of that donor money back into his businesses, and hes encouraged his Republican pals to do the same. A recent ABC News report revealed that in the first half of 2021, dozens of Republican campaigns and political groups have together spent at least $750,000 at Trump properties, with nearly half of that coming from fundraising committees directly affiliated with or linked to Trump himself, according to federal and state campaign disclosure reports. The Make America Great Again PAC has been paying $40,000 per month to rent office space at Trump Tower, and another $8,000 for accommodations at Trump-owned hotels. PACs run by the Republican National Committee are also dropping big bucks at Trump properties they spent $176,000 at Mar-a-Lago for a GOP donor retreat this spring.
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Failure To Make Pledged 9/11 Grants
An investigation by the New York City Comptroller‘s office in October 2016 showed that Trump and/or the Donald Trump Foundation may have failed to honor at least one pledge to charities established to provide relief for victims of the . Trump had made a pledge of $10,000 to the Twin Towers Fund on The Howard Stern Show in late September 2001. The Twin Towers Fund, later administered as part of the New York City Public and Private Initiative, was created by then-New York City MayorRudolph Giuliani “to benefit the families of firefighters and police officers who died in the attacks.”
During the 2016 Republican National Convention, Giuliani announced that Trump had made unspecified “anonymous” donations after the September 11 attacks, although such donations have not been identified. Giuliani also said, in support of Trump’s candidacy, “Every time New York City suffered a tragedy Donald Trump was there to help … He’s not going to like my telling you this but he did it anonymously.”
In 2016, after the convention, Trump’s campaign suggested that the Trump Foundation made a grant to the American Red Cross after the attacks however, no record of it exists in the foundation’s tax filings from 2001 through 2014. As with the Twin Towers Fund, if Trump instead had made a personal donation, it would not have shown up in the foundation’s records.
Mishandling Of Funds Raised For Veterans’ Causes
In April 2016, Fox News reported that more than two months after Trump said he had raised $6 million for military veterans at a pre-Iowa caucus fundraiser, “most of the organizations targeted to receive the money have gotten less than half of that amount.” Around that time, Trump also said he had contributed $1,000,000 of his personal funds. In late May, Trump revised his figures downward, saying $5.6 million had been raised at the event and that he had contributed his one million only the previous week, after the media criticized him. He also provided a list of the beneficiaries of the $5.6 million, although the full amount is disputed in a lawsuit filed by New York State in 2018, which cites an amount of $2.8 million.
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Arizona Donors Double Down After Jan 6 Panel Questions Trump Election Fund
By: Neetish Basnet/Cronkite News– July 26, 2022 7:11 am
Former President Donald Trump throws hats to supporters at a rally in Florence on Jan. 15, 2022. Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
WASHINGTON Scottsdale resident William Acorn had made occasional donations to conservative candidates in the past, but never considered himself an avid political person.
That changed in 2020, after a flurry of emails from then-President Donald Trumps campaign begging supporters to step up and give us the resources to challenge Democrats plans to count ILLEGAL ballots. Acorn became one of tens of thousands of Arizonans who responded with almost 35,000 individual donations to Trumps Election Defense Fund.
The only problem is, no such fund existed.
The campaign actually funneled most of the Election Defense Fund donations to Trumps then-new Save America political action committee, said Amanda Wick, senior investigative counsel for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said the Trump campaign misled donors, what she called in a June committee hearing a big rip off.
Acorn, for one, is not feeling ripped off.
I do believe it was , he said of the 2020 election. I believe that people really dont understand the underlying issues going on in this country. This country is being hijacked by ultra-, ultra-liberal elitists.
by Neetish Basnet/Cronkite News, Arizona MirrorJuly 26, 2022
Investigations By The Washington Post And Others
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post began looking into Trump’s history of charitable giving. In January 2016, Trump held a fundraiser for veterans’ causes in lieu of appearing at a televised Republican debate. He claimed that the event raised $6 million, including $1 million of his own money. Fahrenthold began his investigation by attempting to verify the receipt and disbursal of the $6 million. All donations were supposed to have gone into the Trump Foundation and then granted by the foundation to others. Fahrenthold determined instead that, several months after the rally, the Trump Foundation had yet to disburse funds to any veteran-related charities. Although some of the funds went directly to causes without passing through the Trump Foundation, Fahrenthold widened his investigation into a larger investigation into Trump’s history of charitable giving. In the November 2019 settlement ordering Trump to pay $2 million in damages, he acknowledged that the veterans’ fundraiser had been a campaign event and that his campaign had been given full control of the raised funds.
Fahrenthold’s investigation into the Trump Foundation and Trump’s history of personal charitable giving involved hundreds of calls to charities associated with Donald Trump it was also notable in that he drew heavily on support and investigative help from a large number of his who helped him track down leads on specific charities.
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Donald Trumps Latest Money
Former president Donald Trump is always running several cash-generating schemes. Its as essential to his being as the uncanny swoop of orange hair. Plus, as Bloomberg notes, The Trump Organization has more than $590 million of debt coming due within the next four years with more than half personally guaranteed by Trump. So its no surprise that even though hes out of the White House, Trump is using his post-presidential clout to rake in the big bucks. Heres what hes got going.
