'Make it $25 million': Trump 'testing boundaries' of campaign finance law in his fundraising

28 May 2024

Former President Donald Trump is taking an overt transactional approach to his campaign fundraising, and experts say he's toeing the line of legality in how he's approaching donors.

According to the Washington Post, the beleaguered ex-president — struggling under the crushing weight of tens of millions of dollars in legal expenses — is now all but promising donors favorable policies in exchange for ever-larger campaign checks. When one GOP donor offered Trump $1 million and asked for a lunch meeting, the 45th president of the United States reportedly responded by not only telling the donor he wasn't going to have lunch with him, but that he expected more.

"You’ve got to make it $25 million," donors who attended the meeting recalled Trump saying.

Trump has lately been telling wealthy donors that they should be motivated to donate large amounts to his campaign in order for them to have an extension of the $1.9 trillion tax cut package he signed into law in 2017 (which overwhelmingly benefited the rich). During the Republican donor meeting at the Pierre Hotel in New York City, Trump reportedly dangled the extension in front of prospective contributors, reminding them that the tax cuts would expire at the end of 2025, and that President Joe Biden likely would not extend them if he was elected to another term.

"[T]axes are going to go up by four times," Trump said, with the Post's Josh Dawsey noting that his estimate was an exaggeration. "You’re going to have the biggest tax increase in history... So whatever you guys can do, I appreciate it."

Dawsey wrote that the overtly transactional nature of Trump's more recent entreaties to donors is "testing the boundaries of federal campaign finance laws." Veteran campaign finance lawyer Larry noble told the Post that federal law dictates that Trump can only solicit a maximum contribution of $3,300 per donor. However, his super PACs can accept contributions of any amount, provided Trump doesn't ask for those amounts directly.

"He can’t say, ‘I want you to give me $1 million,’" Noble said.

One recent meeting with oil industry executives and lobbyists, in which Trump promised concessions to the industry in exchange for $1 billion in campaign donations, is now being investigated by the Senate Budget Committee.

Among the promises Trump reportedly made to the oil industry included repealing Biden's wind energy and electric vehicle credits and subsidies, and opening new oil and gas drilling leases in lands the Biden administration declared as off-limits. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), who chairs the Budget Committee, said he was particularly alarmed over reports that the industry had already drafted executive orders ready for Trump's signature upon taking office that effectively amount to a policy wish list.

"Put those things together and it starts to look mighty damn corrupt," Whitehouse said.

Click here to read the Post's report in full (subscription required).

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