Trump Save America PAC Down to Only $4M After Spending More Than $40M on Legal Costs in First Half of 2023: Report
Aug. 1 2023, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Donald Trump's political action committee, Save America, is facing financial strain after its monetary reserves dwindled from a whopping $105 million to less than $4 million in a matter of only six months, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a sudden development just hours after it was revealed Trump’s Save America PAC spent more than $40 million to pay the legal fees for the ex-president and his associates in the first half of 2023, it was revealed this week that the group is nearly broke.
Also surprising are reports that Save America was forced to request a $60 million refund from another pro-Trump PAC that it donated to earlier this year.
That is the revelation shared by the New York Times on Tuesday in a report that exposed Trump’s Save America PAC and its financial fall from grace between January and July 2023.
According to the Times, the other pro-Trump PAC – Make America Great Again Inc. – already returned $12.25 million to Save America to help cover Trump's mounting legal bills.
The refund was reportedly the largest of its kind in the history of federal campaigns, and the more than $12 million transfer further highlighted the interconnectedness of Trump's political and legal challenges.
Meanwhile, Save America is prohibited from directly spending money on Trump's 2024 candidacy – so it donated $60 million to the super PAC earlier this year in an effort to bypass the restriction, according to the Times.
Federal campaign filings further confirmed that the $60 million refund was requested, although the exact timing currently remains unclear.
Make America Great Again Inc. reportedly returned $1 million on May 1, followed by $5 million on May 9, another $5 million on June 1, and $1.25 million on June 30.
Experts and campaign finance analysts who spoke to the Times suggested the four separate refunds were made to circumvent the $5,000 donation limit for regular PACs.
Adav Noti, a former lawyer for the Federal Election Commission, stated that calling the $12.5 million transfer a refund would not change the potential illegality of the transactions. Noti also raised concerns about unlawful financial coordination between the two pro-Trump PACs.
“I don’t know that calling it a refund changes the fundamental illegality,” Noti told the outlet this week.
“So for the super PAC and the Trump PAC to be sending tens of millions of dollars back and forth depending upon who needs the money more strongly suggests unlawful financial coordination,” Noti added.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, defended the legality of the transactions and criticized any insinuations of impropriety.
He emphasized Trump's dominance in the race and fundraising efforts, as well as the embattled ex-president’s leadership in the polls.
“Everything was done in accordance with the law and upon the advice of counsel,” Cheung said in a statement.
“Any disgusting insinuation otherwise, especially by Democrat donors, is nothing more than a feeble attempt to distract from the fact that President Trump is dominating this race — both in the polls and with fund-raising — and is the only candidate who will beat Crooked Joe Biden,” Cheung added.
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