Winnipeg Free Press

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Some Republicans are already troubled that Trump’s takeover of the RNC could shortchange the cash- strapped party. Trump has invited high-dollar donors to Palm Beach, Fla., for an April 6 fundraiser that comes as his fundraising is well behind President Joe Biden and national Democrats. The invitation’s fine print says donations to the Trump 47 Com- mittee will first be used to give the maximum amount allowed under federal law to Trump’s campaign. Anything left over from the donation next goes toward a maximum contribution to Save America, and then anything left from there goes to the RNC and then to state political parties. Adav Noti, the executive director of the non- partisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington, said that is a break from fundraising norms. Usually, Noti said, candidates prioritize raising cash that can be spent directly on campaign ac- tivity. Save America, on the other hand, is struc- tured as a “leadership PAC” and thus barred from spending directly on Trump’s own campaign ac- tivities. Legal spending made up 85 per cent of Save America’s total operating expenses during the first two months of this year, roughly the same as 2023, when such expenses were about 89 per cent. It has spent US$8.5 million on legal fees so far this year. “The reason most candidates don’t do this is because the hardest money to raise is money that can be spent directly on the campaign,” said Noti, a former staff attorney for the Federal Elec- tion Commission. “No other candidate has used a leadership PAC the way the Trump campaign has.” The Trump campaign noted that Save America spends on expenses other than legal fees and that donors to the April fundraiser who contribute the suggested US$814,600 per person or US$250,000 per person will only have US$5,000 of their do- nation go to Save America, sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to the RNC. “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. The Trump campaign, the RNC, and state GOP par- ties ultimately receive the overwhelming major- ity of funds raised through the Trump 47 Com- mittee. Out of an Individual donor’s maximum contribution of $824,600, less than 1 per cent (.006 per cent) goes to Save America,” Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign communications director, said in a statement. A separate contribution form for the Trump 47 Committee allows donors to give smaller con- tributions or a contribution of any size but still spells out in the fine print that the donation is first to be allocated to the Trump campaign and Save America. Trump’s handpicked leadership team for the RNC includes his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who is the committee’s co-chair, and Chris LaCivi- ta, who serves effectively as one of two campaign managers for the Trump campaign and is now also taking on a chief of staff role at the RNC. Lara Trump in February said she thought Re- publican voters would like to see the RNC pay Trump’s legal fees. But shortly before the leadership change was voted in at the RNC, LaCivita told the AP in an interview that “not a penny of the RNC’s money or, for that matter, the campaign’s money has gone or will go to pay legal fees,” he said. Before Trump was a candidate, the RNC was paying some of his legal bills for cases in New York that began when he was president, The Washington Post reported. Former chair Ronna McDaniel, who was ousted this month, said in 2022 that the RNC would stop paying once Trump became a candidate. The new arrangement doesn’t direct RNC funds to lawyers, but it ensures that when cheques are written to the new combined Republican cam- paign, Trump’s campaign and Save America get paid first. According to the fine print, any donor who wishes can direct their contribution to be distributed differently. Donors could also bypass the fundraising arrangement and give directly to the RNC or any other entity. Trump’s political operation is struggling to catch up to Biden on fundraising and organ- ization. His main campaign account and the Save America PAC reported raising a combined US$15.9 million in February and ended the month with more than US$37 million on hand, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday night. The two committees are key parts of Trump’s fundraising operation but only a portion of the picture. The rest of his fundraising apparatus is scheduled to report updated numbers in April, along with the new Trump 47 Committee formed with the Republican National Committee. “Trump is in dire need of money to pay his legal fees and he’s draining his PAC and he’s spending huge amounts of money out of his campaign com- mittee,” said Brett Kappel, a longtime campaign finance attorney who has represented both Re- publicans and Democrats. — The Associated Press MICHELLE L. PRICE ;