Donald Trump’s newly formed joint Trump 47 fundraising committee will direct a portion of campaign donations to the Save America political action committee, which has been used primarily to help pay the ex-president’s mounting legal bills.
According to a copy of an invitation to major donors, Trump 47’s donations will be distributed first to the Trump campaign, followed by Save America PAC, a leadership PAC.
Once donors reach their maximum contribution limits, the money goes to the Republican National Committee (RNC), followed by the state Republican parties. Save America’s prioritization was first reported by the Associated Press.
The ordering differs from the norm for political donations to joint fundraising committees, where the order typically starts with the candidate’s campaign, then the national party, then the state parties, and not the leadership PACs.
But the ex-president is facing mounting legal bills from a series of civil and criminal cases and the Save America PAC has spent tens of millions on lawyers, including nearly $5.6 million last month alone.
Former President Trump sits in court in October 2023. His new joint fundraising committee Trump 47 sends money to Trump’s campaign and leadership PAC before the money goes to the RNC and state parties
Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump was elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee earlier this month. She previously said she believes voters would support the RNC in paying Trump’s legal bills
In the invitation to an April 6 mega-donor event hosted by hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, the maximum donation is $814,600 per person. Of that, up to $5,000 can go to the leadership PAC before the money goes to other party committees. So only a fraction of the large donations would go to what has been used as the legal slush fund in the first place, but it would take on a larger amount. percentage of smaller donations.
“Save America also covers a very active and robust post-presidency office and other miscellaneous expenses unrelated to the fight against the illegal witch hunts perpetrated by Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump campaign director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
“The Trump campaign, the RNC and the Republican parties ultimately receive the overwhelming majority of funds raised through the Trump 47 Committee. Of an individual donor’s maximum contribution of $824,600, less than 1% (0.006%) goes to Save America,” he added.
It comes after Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, was recently elected co-chair of the RNC earlier this month and Trump loyalist Michael Whatley was elected national chairman, completing Trump’s influence over the party.
Days later, Trump too has gathered the necessary delegates to become the Republican Party’s presidential candidate for the third time, which will become official at the convention in July.
Trump’s campaign said he had a total of $41.9 million in cash on hand at the end of February. During Biden’s campaign, it was announced that he had a total of $155 million in cash on hand
But the ex-president is struggling to raise funds as he heads into election season and his legal bills pile up.
President Biden reported a total war chest of $155 million at the end of February, while Trump had a total of $41.9 million cash on hand.
Of Save America PAC’s total spending last month, 85 percent went to legal bills, and the Alina Habba law firm was still owed more than half a million dollars. Last year it spent nearly $50 million on legal bills.
Trump faces 88 charges in four criminal cases that could go to trial later this year, just as the presidential race should heat up.
At the same time, Trump was hit with a $464 million judgment in the New York fraud case and is struggling to secure a bond by Monday. He was also ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll $83 million in the defamation case.
While Biden has completely eclipsed Trump in fundraising so far, documents show the RNC is also strapped for cash. At the end of February, the country had just over $11 million in cash on hand, less than half of what Democrats had.
Before Lara Trump was unanimously elected co-chair of the RNC, she said at a campaign event that she thinks voters would be in favor of the RNC paying the former president’s soaring legal fees.
She said it would have broad support among Republican voters who view the lawsuits as “an attack.”
The RNC had paid some of Trump’s legal bills before he was a presidential candidate, but former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said in 2022 that would stop once he was a candidate.
President Biden’s joint fundraising committee, the Biden Victory Fund, has a traditional cash flow by comparison. The money goes to the presidential campaign and then to the Democratic National Committee before flowing to state parties.