Folks here are misunderstanding the Trump-RNC agreement. The RNC is NOT "paying Trump's legal bills".

[brooklynite]

The agreement is what's known in politics as a "coordinated campaign" and Democrats do the same thing.

Case in point: I've given $16,600 to the Biden Victory Fund. How did I do that if the candidate limit is $6,600? Simple. In the fine print of the contribution form, it says:

Biden Victory Fund accepts contributions of up to $929,600 from a person and $415,000 from a multicandidate committee (“PAC”). The first $6,600/$10,000 from a person/PAC will be allocated to Biden for President, with the first $3,300/$5,000 designated for the primary and the next $3,300/$5,000 for the general election. The next $41,300/$15,000 from a person/PAC will be allocated to the DNC. The next $510,000/$255,000 from a person/PAC will be split equally among the Democratic state parties from: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, and WY. Any additional funds will be allocated to the DNC, subject to applicable contribution limits.

Essentially, I'm giving multiple contributions to different entities with one check. The same applies to the RNC agreement, which gives also first call on any cash raised (up to $6,600) to the Trump campaign. The difference is that the second call on the contribution is Trump's PAC (up to $5,000) which IS spending money on legal representation (nb: NOT paying his legal judgments, which are a personal obligation). Then the money goes to the RNC and State Parties.

The issue is not that the RNC is paying legal bills; its that its sacrificing receipt of funds at a time when its coffers for the campaign are already empty.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. I read that on the Republicon side, after initial campaign parcel, it goes to PACs that are less constrained

on edit: reading your OP more closely, that is part of what you said.



That the PACs or super PACs pay his legal bills.

So it is indirect, but still coming out of "political" contributions.

[unblock]

2. Assuming, of course, that the grifting, corrupt, criminal trumps abide by the law

and don't grift when near massive cash streams and under pressure to find massive cash

[brooklynite]

4. I wish people would stop flippantly saying "Trump won't obey the rules"

He doesn't have a choice. HE is not collecting and distributing the money. The RNC staff is. And every dollar in and out has to be reported to FEC.

[unblock]

7. Donnie has kept two sets of books and committed fraud for decades

and just co-opted the rnc, which just purged a ton of people, no doubt keeping only the loyalists.

Yes it's not as easy as well it's Donnie's money he can do whatever. But he also has a long history of getting others to commit crimes on his behalf.

And I think it's entirely consistent with their history to use these various pools of cash to pay legal fees, arguing that making fighting his legal scandals is a valid campaign expense. Heck, they could just pay don jr. a ton as a "consultant" and he could turn it over to Donnie.

I'm not disputing your analysis of the way it's *supposed* to work. But these are fascist crooks we're dealing with.

[BannonsLiver]

17. Exactly. I mean if there's one thing folks associate with Trump it's his commitment to obeying rules.

[brooklynite]

18. Did you ignored what I said?

Trump isn’t involved in receiving and distributing the funds. The RNC staff is.

[dalton99a]

3. The RNC is now controlled by some guy named Trump

an upstanding God-fearing law-abiding citizen

[Think. Again.]

5. The bottom line is that...

...political donations intended as campaign contributions are being used to pay a candidate's dis-allowed personal and business expenses.

[Hugin]

11. Yeah, it's a misunderstanding that's on the part of the donors...

AKA fraud. As usual. Sure they can hide behind the legalese of saying everyone should know how the money is spent. But, they sure don't stress the fact that this is how the money is spent. I doubt that few among the small dollar donors know.

[Think. Again.]

12. And there are legal restrictions on...

...how political donations can be spent.

Personal and private-business legal expenses ain't included.

[Hugin]

13. Buyer beware is blaming the victim.

Typical of a gaggle of conmen.

[Biophilic]

6. Thank you for the explanation. That makes much more sense.

[uncle ray]

8. have you compared your fine print to the trump campaign fine print?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

9. As I said in another thread,

the up side is that the more of the contributions that get spent on the legal bills, the less there is to finance the campaign itself. And the Republican Party has been raising much less than the Democrats in the past two years or so.

There's a tendency for the best-financed candidate to win.

[Hugin]

10. I don't understand how it's legal for a PAC to be used in the manner TSF is using his.

I mean PAC spelled out is "Political Action Committee", right? A legal defense other than directly having to do with ballots and other election related matters seems to me like a personal thing.

[struggle4progress]

14. Lara says GOP voters want RNC to pay Donald's legal fees

MICHELLE L. PRICE
February 21, 2024

... Lara Trump said Wednesday while campaigning for her father-in-law ahead of the South Carolina primary that she was not familiar with the RNC's rules about paying Donald Trump's legal fees in a multitude of criminal and civil cases.

But she said she thought the idea would get broad support among GOP voters who see his legal cases as political persecution.

“That’s why people are furious right now. And they see the attacks against him. They feel like it’s an attack not just on Donald Trump but on this country," she said. “So yeah I think that is a big interest to people, absolutely” ...

https://news.yahoo.com/lara-trump-says-she-thinks-010743094.html

[struggle4progress]

15. Invite to major donors prioritizes committee paying his legal bills over the RNC

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE
Updated 8:42 PM EDT, March 21, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s new joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee directs donations to his campaign and a political action committee that pays the former president’s legal bills before the RNC gets a cut, according to a fundraising invitation obtained by The Associated Press.

The unorthodox diversion of funds to the Save America PAC makes it more likely that Republican donors could see their money go to Trump’s lawyers, who have received at least $76 million over the last two years to defend him against four felony indictments and multiple civil cases. Some Republicans are already troubled that Trump’s takeover of the RNC could shortchange the cash-strapped party.

Trump has invited high-dollar donors to Palm Beach, Florida, for an April 6 fundraiser that comes as his fundraising is well behind President Joe Biden and national Democrats. The invitation’s fine print says donations to the Trump 47 Committee will first be used to give the maximum amount allowed under federal law to Trump’s campaign. Anything left over from the donation next goes toward a maximum contribution to Save America, and then anything left from there goes to the RNC and then to state political parties ...

https://apnews.com/article/trump-campaign-fundraising-rnc-c0e8f1e7b59f70c5237e13a3462e5790

[struggle4progress]

16. RNC Will Pay Trump's Legal Bills After All - Despite Earlier Denials

Michael LucianoMar 21st, 2024, 11:05 pm

Despite earlier denials by Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley and co-chair Lara Trump, the organization will foot some of Donald Trump’s legal bills, according to an Associated Press report on Thursday.

The campaign of the former president, who is the father-in-law of Lara Trump, struck an agreement with the RNC that will direct donations to his campaign and his Save America political action committee that has been paying Trump’s legal bills. Last year, his campaign reportedly spent $50 million of donor money on his legal expenses alone ...

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/the-rnc-will-pay-trumps-legal-bills-after-all-despite-earlier-denials/