How Trump is 'stretching the bounds of campaign finance law': report
Despite all his legal and financial problems, Donald Trump remains the clear frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is quick to point out that many polls show her with substantial leads over incumbent President Joe Biden in a hypothetical general election matchup; regardless, Trump leads Haley by 65 percent among Republican primary voters in an Economist/YouGov poll conducted February 18-20. And a Morning Consult poll finds Trump ahead of Haley by 63 percent.
Trump's financial problems range from a mountain of legal bills to all the penalties and damages he has been hit with in civil cases. Between New York State Attorney General's civil fraud case and writer E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuits, Trump owes well over $500 million.
In an article published on February 23, the Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger reports that according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, Trump's cash-strapped campaign "once again" appears to be "stretching the bounds of campaign finance law to inflate his war chest."
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"To date, the Trump campaign has reported only $1400 in refunds since November 2022, according to Federal Election Commission filings — a jaw-droppingly low amount for a frontrunner presidential campaign," Sollenberger explains. "For context, President Joe Biden's campaign refunded its supporters about $360,000 last year, with another $222,000 last month alone. In 2019, the year before the last presidential election, the Trump campaign returned more than $900,000 to its donors, racking up more than $11 million in refunds the following year."
Sollenberger goes on to describe the role that PACs (political action committees) play in Trump's political operation.
Trump Save America is a joint fundraising committee (JFC), and Save America is a leadership PAC. Sollenberger points out that "where the Biden and Haley JFCs include committees not tied to them personally, Trump's setup only feeds Trump."
"The Biden and Haley operations fund committees beyond themselves, with broader political imperatives," the Daily Beast reporter notes. "But Trump Save America only feeds two committees, his campaign and his Save America leadership PAC. The default 'split' sends 90 percent of every donation to the campaign, and 10 percent to Save America."
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Read The Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).
