Former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have a new joint fundraising agreement.
New Fundraising Agreement Between Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee
According to a fundraising invitation acquired by The Associated Press, under the new fundraising arrangement, donations will now be directed to Donald Trump's campaign and a political action committee (PAC) paying his legal expenses before the RNC gets a cut.
With this unusual diversion of funds to the Save America PAC, Republican donors would be more likely to see their money go to Trump's lawyers, who are defending the former president against multiple civil cases and four felony indictments.
The AP reported that Trump's lawyers have already received $76 million over the past two years. This new agreement comes as cash-strapped Trump actively seeks big donors to help him beat President Joe Biden in the November election.
Trump has invited wealthy donors to an April 6 fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, after it was reported that his fundraising is well behind Biden and national Democrats.
According to the invitation, the money donated to the Trump 47 joint fundraising committee will be used first for Trump's campaign, with the maximum amount allowed under federal law.
The rest of the donations will go toward a maximum contribution to Save America, and anything left from there will go to the RNC and state political parties.
This approach differs from traditional campaign fundraising trajectories, in which donations are usually spent directly on campaign activity and not prioritized legal spending.
Donald Trump and the RNC Formed the Trump 47 Committee
The Washington Post reported that the newly formed Trump 47 Committee, established through negotiations between the Trump campaign and the RNC, can raise up to $814,600.
Save America is prohibited from spending directly on Donald Trump's own campaign activities since it is structured as a "leadership PAC." During the first two months of this year, it has already spent about 85% of its total operating expenses on legal spending. So far, it has spent $8.5 million on legal fees this year.
"Save America also covers a very active and robust post-Presidency office and other various expenses not related to fighting the illegal witch-hunts perpetrated by Crooked Joe Biden," Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign communications director, said in a statement.
"The Trump campaign, the RNC, and state GOP parties ultimately receive the overwhelming majority of funds raised through the Trump 47 Committee. Out of an Individual donor's maximum contribution of $824,600, less than 1% (.006%) goes to Save America," he added, as he stressed that only a small fraction of an individual donor's total maximum contribution goes to Save America.
The invitation also outlined an option for donors to direct their contribution to be distributed differently or bypass the joint fundraising arrangement entirely. This flexibility allows donors to direct their funds to the RNC or other preferred entity.
Trump was recently hit with a $464 million civil fraud judgment in New York and was ordered to pay $83 million in defamation damages to writer E. Jean Carroll. The former president had difficulty raising funds to post a bond for the civil fraud lawsuit against him.
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