Donald Trump Raises $2 Million From Top Donors With 'Candlelight Dinner' Hours After 37-Count Arraignment
June 15 2023, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
Donald Trump's top donors doubled down on their support for the 2024 GOP hopeful, spending more than $2 million on a "candlelight dinner" with the ex-president hours after he pled not guilty to 37 federal charges stemming from accusations of alleged mishandling of classified documents, RadarOnline.com has learned.
After appearing in a Miami courthouse on Tuesday and buying everyone at a Cuban restaurant lunch, he jetted off to Trump National Golf Club, in Bedminster, New Jersey, for an intimate dinner with two dozen top supporters.
Donors were fed one of Trump's favorite meals — crab cakes and burgers — as they sipped cocktails and wine.
Supporters had to raise or donate $100k for a seat at the table. The funds went toward his 2024 presidential run, an event invite revealed. Trump's post-arraignment dinner raised over $2 million for his campaign, his team confirmed to CNBC.
The fundraiser was allegedly scheduled before Trump was indicted on federal charges.
“Voters, donors, and activists are all energized to send President Trump back to the White House,” a spokesman for Trump's campaign said in a statement. Donors have been quiet about the event, with Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville revealing he was in attendance.
"I was invited a couple weeks ago, this had been planned," Tuberville told Daily Mail.
Eric Trump also attended the event, as did Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, reported the outlet.
Trump addressed the crowd, calling the charges "the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country." He also insisted he "did everything right and they indicted me."
As RadarOnline.com reported, Trump was charged with 37 felonies, including 31 counts under the Espionage Act of “willful retention” of classified records, which he allegedly kept after leaving the White House in January 2021.
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The unsealed indictment outlined the times he allegedly shared high-level documents with those without clearances and his efforts to block anyone retrieving them, as well as telling his lawyer to “hide or destroy” them after being subpoenaed last year.
Photos showed Trump kept the documents "regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack" in a restroom, bedroom, and a ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.
Despite claiming he did nothing wrong, Trump is said to be scared of the indictment.
"He’s scared s---less,” John Kelly, his ex-chief of staff, told the Washington Post. “This is the way he compensates for that. He gives people the appearance he doesn’t care by doing this. For the first time in his life, it looks like he’s being held accountable. Up until this point in his life, it’s like, I’m not going to pay you, take me to court. He’s never been held accountable before.”
If convicted, Trump could face up to 100 years in prison.