Trump wants 'control of the RNC' to make it his own personal 'piggy bank': Nikki Haley

17 February 2024

Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley is cautioning Republicans against allowing former President Donald Trump to install loyalists at the helm of the Republican National Committee (RNC) as he faces roughly half a billion dollars of civil judgments.

Between Judge Arthur Engoron's $355 million fraud verdict (which will balloon up to nearly $450 million when including interest), E. Jean Carroll's $88.3 million defamation judgment and a separate $5 million judgment in Carroll's favor for sexual abuse, the former president is now on the hook for roughly half a billion dollars in civil penalties. During a recent appearance on CNN, Haley told host Kaitlan Collins that Trump may now have his eyes on the RNC's coffers as his penalties pile up.

"My biggest issue is I don’t want the RNC to become his legal defense fund. I don’t want the RNC to become his piggy bank for his personal court cases. We’ve already seen him spend $50 million worth of campaign contributions toward his personal court cases," Haley said. "Now we see him trying to get control of the RNC, so he can continue not to have to pay his own legal fees."

As Haley mentioned, Trump was already eyeing the RNC as a way to pay his own bills prior to Engoron's verdict being released. In 2023 alone, the former president used roughly $55 million in donations from his supporters to pay his lawyers. Trump used a complex scheme involving various expenditures and refunds between two of his PACs — MAGA Inc. and Save America — to make the payments, and could potentially direct RNC funds to his own ends as PAC money dwindles.

As Bloomberg reported earlier this week, Save America already has an agreement in place where 10% of money raised by the PAC will fund Trump's legal expenses, with more than $10 million paid out already. MAGA Inc. has reportedly spent more than 71 cents of every dollar raised on Trump's attorneys. Politico reported that in 2021 and 2022, the RNC already paid $2 million to firms representing Trump, though it ceased those payments once Trump formally declared his 2024 presidential campaign.

The former president has since publicly endorsed North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley to co-chair the RNC along with his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. The RNC will have to hold a formal vote on new leadership, but Trump's endorsements mean that his picks may very well run the national party organization in 2024. Current RNC chair Ronna McDaniel is still in her role, however, and has said she plans to stay on until at least the South Carolina Republican primary next week.

Trump's legal bills are likely to continue piling up, as the 45th president of the United States will have four criminal trials in three jurisdictions to pay for in 2024. Additionally, the Supreme Court has allowed civil lawsuits relating to the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol to move forward, meaning Trump could potentially have to pay additional judgments in the future.

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