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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump donors think they're giving to "save America," but they're paying Trump's legal bills
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Amanda Marcotte
@AmandaMarcotte
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MAGA is, first and foremost, a grift. Trump's Save America PAC is supposed to be funding GOP candidates. Instead, Trump is mostly using it to pay his rapidly rising legal bills.
salon.com
Trump donors think they're giving to "save America," but they're paying Trump's legal bills
More than 60% of spending by Trump's Save America PAC is going to his legal battle over stolen classified documents
10:42 AM · Sep 21, 2022
Amanda Marcotte
@AmandaMarcotte
·
Follow
MAGA is, first and foremost, a grift. Trump's Save America PAC is supposed to be funding GOP candidates. Instead, Trump is mostly using it to pay his rapidly rising legal bills.
salon.com
Trump donors think they're giving to "save America," but they're paying Trump's legal bills
More than 60% of spending by Trump's Save America PAC is going to his legal battle over stolen classified documents
10:42 AM · Sep 21, 2022
https://www.salon.com/2022/09/21/donors-think-theyre-giving-to-save-america-but-theyre-paying-legal-bills/
When one is under federal investigation for serious crimes like potential espionage, the usual legal advice is to be silent. Lawyers tend to get nervous when clients talk publicly about their cases, fearful that they will inadvertently provide evidence prosecutors can use against their clients in court. But after the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in August, Donald Trump has not shut up. He rants on Truth Social about the FBI, portraying himself as the victim of an "unwarranted, unjust, and illegal Raid," even though there appears little doubt that he was in possession of classified documents he appears to have stolen from the government. He gives lengthy and often ad-libbed speeches, ostensibly in support of Republicans running for office, in which he complains about his alleged victimization at the hands of the FBI.
Trump's lawyers haven't put a stop to this, quite possibly because quieting Trump is an impossible task. But it's also true that Trump has been fundraising heavily off the FBI raid for his leadership PAC, Save America. The PAC ostensibly exists to help Republican candidates win races, but as CNN reported last Tuesday, the majority of the money is going straight to Trump's lawyers. Out of the $6.3 million spent by the PAC in August, over 60% $3.8 million was spent on Trump's legal fees. That's over 24 times what the PAC spent on actual candidates that month the only expenditure listed under the PAC's ostensible purpose was $150,000 spent to defeat Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in her primary.
As Salon reported at the time, Trump created this PAC immediately after losing the 2020 election, and it appeared shady from the start, rife with fundraising appeals that misleadingly implied President Joe Biden stole the 2020 election. Trump's PAC may be excessive, but due to Supreme Court-forced deregulation of campaign finance laws, it's actually normal for leadership PACs to be awash in grift. Money that donors think is going to political campaigns instead is often spent on funding politicians' lifestyles paying for airfare, restaurant meals, and other luxury goods and services. As campaign finance expert Brett Kappel told Salon in November 2020, "Save America funds could be used to pay many of the legal fees Trump will incur after he leaves office."
Trump's PAC has been under heavy scrutiny for months now, both by law enforcement and by Republican leadership, albeit for entirely different reasons. Law enforcement is mostly concerned with questions of whether Trump defrauded his donors or used the money for illegal purposes. As the New York Times reported earlier this month, "A federal grand jury in Washington is examining the formation of and spending by a fund-raising operation created by Donald J. Trump after his loss in the 2020 election as he was soliciting millions of dollars by baselessly asserting that the results had been marred by widespread voting fraud."
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Trump donors think they're giving to "save America," but they're paying Trump's legal bills (Original Post)
Nevilledog
Sep 2022
OP
Imagine how much it costs these days to pay a team of lawyers to take cases
The_Casual_Observer
Sep 2022
#1
Donald and friends are sending out zillions of emails and letters pleading poverty... send money.
keithbvadu2
Sep 2022
#2
I can't imagine the mindset of some, "Trump needs my money more than I need to eat."
Hermit-The-Prog
Sep 2022
#4
It's pretty amazing how Trump has managed to turn supporter donations into covering his legal bills
LetMyPeopleVote
Oct 2022
#6
The_Casual_Observer
(27,742 posts)1. Imagine how much it costs these days to pay a team of lawyers to take cases
to the Supreme Court.
keithbvadu2
(36,360 posts)2. Donald and friends are sending out zillions of emails and letters pleading poverty... send money.
Donald and friends are sending out zillions of emails and letters pleading poverty... send money.
Especially to seniors.
https://democraticunderground.com/100217161933
FakeNoose
(32,328 posts)3. He probably gets free postage as a "courtesy"
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,021 posts)4. I can't imagine the mindset of some, "Trump needs my money more than I need to eat."
ProfessorGAC
(64,413 posts)5. I Think It's One & The Same To Them
Defending the indefensible lying whiner is their way of "saving America ".
I seriously doubt any of them feel their donations are being misused.
But, it's not a cult, so stop saying that!
LetMyPeopleVote
(143,998 posts)6. It's pretty amazing how Trump has managed to turn supporter donations into covering his legal bills