trump victory bak

<div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">420 capt bak format</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">also the name of official campaign?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva and committee member Rep. Katie Porter are investigating an alleged bribery scheme in which they believe a real estate developer donated to a super PAC aligned in support of former President Donald Trump in exchange for pardons for two other men.</font></b></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The two Democrats&nbsp;<a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2022.12.02%20Grijalva%20Porter%20to%20Haaland%20re%20Hammond%20pardon%20REDACTED.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">wrote&nbsp;</a>to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Friday, calling on her department to release all documents related to the pardons of Dwight and Steven Hammond, who had been convicted in&nbsp;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">2012 of s<b>etting fires on public lands they had leased after illegally killing deer on the land.&nbsp;</b>The two men were sentenced to five years in prison with time served in 2015, sparking right-wing protests including a 40-day armed occupation of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.</span></font></p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Grijalva (Ariz.) and Porter (Calif.) believe real estate developer Mike Ingram—who was the subject of the Natural Resources Committee's first-ever criminal referral regarding another potential bribery case involving a clean water permit for one of his developments—secured the Hammonds' pardons in 2018 with a $10,000 donation to the America First Action, Inc. Super PAC.</font></span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">According to the letter, Ingram's assistant&nbsp;<a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/media/press-releases/chair-grijalva-rep-porter-seek-documents-on-another-incident-of-potential-bribery-under-the-trump-administration-" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">emailed</a>&nbsp;a Trump Interior Department official on May 25, 2018, attaching two articles arguing for the Hammonds to be pardoned. On July 1, a Republican lawmaker who supported the Hammonds tweeted that Trump was "seriously considering" pardoning them.</font></span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One day later, Ingram made his donation, and just over a week after that Trump announced he was pardoning the Hammonds.</font></span></p><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">"Mr. Ingram made only one other $10,000 donation during the 2017-2018 nonpresidential election cycle," wrote Grijalva and Porter. "That donation was the subject of the committee's criminal referral regarding the Villages at Vigneto development [in Arizona]. In that case,&nbsp;</span><b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Ingram and 12 other individuals, many of whom maintained personal or professional relationships with Ingram, donated nearly a quarter of a million dollars</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">&nbsp;to the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">&nbsp;</span><b style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Trump Victory Fund</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> and the Republican National Committee&nbsp;</span></b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">on the same day or within just a few days that a major federal action regarding Vigneto was made in Ingram's favor."</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The parallels between the Vigneto case and the Hammonds' pardons raise significant concerns about another potential case of bribery under the Trump administration and warrant further investigation," they added.</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>On social media, Porter noted that she and Grijalva uncovered the evidence of Ingram's alleged bribe "while investigating a possible $240,000 quid pro quo scheme between the Trump administration and a developer.</b>"</font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We're requesting documents to help us get to the bottom of [the Ingram case]," Porter&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatiePorter/status/1598779740135034913" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" class="rm-stats-tracked" style="text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s;">said</a>. "I have zero tolerance for corruption."</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">an720</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">President Donald Trump’s fundraising operation paid about $400,000 to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.salon.com/2019/11/15/trumps-d-c-hotel-is-for-sale-and-heres-the-pitch-get-rich-off-foreign-money/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Trump International Hotel in Washington</a>&nbsp;in the second quarter,&nbsp;an analysis by a researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics revealed.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Trump Victory Committee, a joint fundraising operation between Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee, spent about $400,000 at Trump’s hotel between April and June, according to CPR researcher Anna Massoglia.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump’s fundraising operation has steered “over $3 million in donations from presidential campaign donors to Trump family, properties & businesses with his 2020 re-election campaign & Trump MAGA joint fundraising [committee],”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/annalecta/status/1283604353497079808" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">Massoglia&nbsp;wrote on Twitter</a>. “$17.4M+ counting 2016."</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[twt doc]</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">the Trump Victory Committee previously spent more than $250,000 at the Washington hotel in the second quarter of 2019, according to an analysis by&nbsp;<a href="https://1100pennsylvania.substack.com/p/trump-victory-reached-250000-in-spending" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">1100 Pennsylvania</a>. The hotel has received more than $1.1 million in total from Trump Victory, the RNC, Vice President Mike Pence’s Great American Committee&nbsp;and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s Protect the House committee.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump campaign spending has been a boon for his private company, from which he has refused to divest. By last fall, political spending by Trump’s campaign committees and his allies at Trump properties topped $20 million,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/10/trump-properties-poli-spending-passes-20m/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">according to CPR data</a>.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump’s presidency, which he kicked off by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/01/22/dc-attorney-general-sues-trumps-inaugural-committee-for-allegedly-violating-its-nonprofit-status_partner/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">dropping $1 million to book a ballroom</a>&nbsp;at his own hotel ahead of his inauguration, has also resulted in new cash flow for the company.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold has&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold/status/1283394589890621441?s=20" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">tracked about $970,000 in taxpayer spending</a>&nbsp;at Trump’s properties since he took office, though that number only scratches the surface. Both the administration and the Trump Organization have gone to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/secret-service-has-paid-rates-as-high-as-650-a-night-for-rooms-at-trumps-properties/2020/02/06/7f27a7c6-3ec5-11ea-8872-5df698785a4e_story.html" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">great lengths to conceal</a>&nbsp;how much taxpayer money is spent at the properties.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, claimed last year that the administration relied on the president’s properties to save taxpayers money.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Secret Service agents “stay at our properties for free — meaning, like, cost for housekeeping,”&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/g-7-at-trump-golf-resort-saves-the-us-money-eric-trump-192655739.html" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">he insisted</a>. “We charge them, like, 50 bucks.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But receipts obtained by The Post show that the Trump Organization&nbsp;<a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/03/06/trump-org-charged-taxpayers-eight-times-more-for-secret-service-stays-than-it-claimed-documents/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">jacked up the prices when Secret Service agents stayed at the property on the taxpayers’ dime</a>. The Trump Organization charges Secret Service an average of $396 per night, or about eight times more than Eric Trump’s claim.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Fahrenthold&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold/status/1283394589890621441?s=20" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">wrote on Twitter that he has found</a>&nbsp;“exactly zero cases where Trump Org did what they promised.”</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“They always charged more,” the reporter added.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Newly-released Federal Election Commission filings cast more light on the donors that powered Trump to a $262 million haul between his campaign committees and the party committees in the second quarter.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Top donors to the Trump Victory Committee&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CATargetBot/status/1283598666368839680" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">included</a>&nbsp;Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter and his wife Laura, as well as&nbsp;Jet Support Services CEO Robert Book and his wife Amy. Both couples gave more than $1.1 million combined.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Other top donors include&nbsp;oil tycoon Douglas Scharbauer ($580,000),&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/2019/11/22/the-man-who-gave-scientology-360-million-actually-answered-the-phone/" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">prominent Scientologist Trish Duggan</a>&nbsp;($580,000) and Ross Perot Jr. ($575,000).</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Trump Supporters, that money he told he desperately needed to help him get re-elected went right in his pocket,”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MrJonCryer/status/1283609984077492227" target="blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">actor and activist Jon Cryer</a>&nbsp;tweeted in response to the spending at the Washington hotel.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.8; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Who knew,”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/dpakman/status/1283606724042260481" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; cursor: pointer;">tweeted radio host David Pakman</a>, “running for president could be so profitable.”</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">beware forbes mag 420</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Here Are The Billionaires Backing Donald Trump’s Campaign</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michela TinderaForbes Staff</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Money & Politics</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The richest president in American history has gotten financial support from nearly one in 10 U.S. billionaires.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nearly five years ago Donald Trump descended an escalator inside Trump Tower and announced a long-shot bid to become president of the United States. Standing on a stage in the building’s lobby, in front of eight American flags, he spoke to a gaggle of cameras. “I’m using my own money,” Trump said, indicating that he would self-fund his campaign. “I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich.”&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">How times have changed. Now in the midst of his reelection campaign, President Trump has accepted donations from 80 billionaires and their spouses, according to a review of Federal Election Commission filings. Fifty-one moguls donated in their own names. Seven others are married to people who did. In other words, 9% of America’s billionaires, who together are worth a combined $210 billion—either directly or through their spouse—have pitched in to cover the costs of Trump’s 2020 campaign.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tracking Billionaire Donations Over Time</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Forbes mined more than 2.5 million entries in the Federal Election Commission database to identify Trump’s richest donors. We searched for contributions made to the president’s campaign committee, Donald J. Trump For President. Our analysis begins on inauguration day, 2017, when Trump officially filed papers for his reelection effort, and ends on February 29, 2020, the latest date for which the campaign has submitted federal filings. (By contrast, Barack Obama didn’t begin seeking contributions to his election campaign until the third year of his presidency.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Most of the donors, some 56%, live in just three states: Florida, New York and Texas. More than three-quarters are self-made. The rest inherited small fortunes and grew them into bigger ones. They come from all sorts of industries—real estate, energy, sports and so on. But one-fifth of the donors got rich in finance & investments. That group includes titans like Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, hedge funder John Paulson and retired Franklin Templeton chief Charles B. Johnson. About 10% of the donors made their money in real estate, including Trump’s fellow New York City billionaire, Richard LeFrak. Shopping mall magnate Edward DeBartolo pitched in $3,000 with his wife Cynthia; Trump later pardoned him, in February.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Texas banker Andy Beal, who Forbes estimates is worth $8.1 billion, has given more money to the Trump Victory joint fundraising committee than any other individual billionaire, according to federal filings. Since 2017 Beal, whose bank was once a senior lender to Trump Entertainment Resorts, has donated more than $1 million over many months. That’s nearly twice as much as he gave during the 2016 campaign. (And just $12,200 less than the combined sum TD Ameritrade AMTD’s Joe Ricketts and his wife Marlene gave.) Brothers and casino magnates Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, along with their wives, meanwhile, gave $1.4 million to Trump Victory in one single day last October.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">How Donald Trump's Donors Got Rich</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some donors made one large contribution early in the Trump presidency, like Revlon chairman Ronald Perelman, who gave $125,000 to Trump Victory in September 2017. Others have contributed multiple times over the last three years. Fifty-one percent of Trump’s billionaire donors did not give to the president’s 2016 campaign. U-Haul billionaire E. Joe Shoen made his first-ever contribution to Trump Victory, $35,500, in February 2020. “President Trump has done an outstanding job and certainly merits my vote,” Shoen says. (Forbes reached out to all of Trump’s donors, nearly all of whom declined to comment on the record.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nearly all the money coming from billionaires traveled through something called a joint fundraising committee. By law, no individual can donate more than $5,600 to an official presidential campaign. But anyone can give bigger sums to joint fundraising committees, which gather funds for specific campaigns and political parties. President Trump has two major joint fundraising committees, Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which collect money for his campaign, the Republican National Committee and other state-level RNC groups. Forty-five billionaire donors have pitched in more than $100,000 each to Trump’s joint fundraising committees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some of the donors who supported Trump during his initial run received roles that gave them access to the president. WWE cofounder Linda McMahon, who contributed $152,700 to Trump Victory in 2016, was appointed by Trump to head the Small Business Administration. She stepped down from her position last year to run a pro-Trump super PAC called America First Action. She has since given more than $2.7 million to that PAC, money that’s not included in this tally because super PACs are technically independent of campaigns.&nbsp;&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Not all of Trump’s 2016 billionaire supporters are still giving—at least not yet. Private equity titan Stephen Feinberg gave $339,400 to Trump Victory last election, and Carl Icahn chipped in $200,000. Neither has donated to Trump since his inauguration. Jennifer Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, contributed $250,000 to Trump Victory in 2016. A transgender woman, Pritzker spoke out against Trump’s transgender military ban, and last year, she donated $1,000 to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Amid all this support, however, one billionaire stands out for having donated no money to his reelection campaign. That billionaire is Donald Trump.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump’s billionaire backers, ordered by amount given:[graf?]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contributions made by nearly all donors were made to two joint fundraising committees, Trump Make America Great Again Committee or Trump Victory and then transferred in part to the Donald J. Trump For President Committee.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Methodology:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Forbes looked for donations from those who appeared as part of the 614 American billionaires on the 2020 World’s Billionaires list published April 7, 2020, and all of their publicly identifiable spouses. We used that list to search Federal Election Commission filings, which show donations to candidate committees. We counted individual itemized contributions made in increments of at least $100 to the Donald J. Trump For President campaign committee, then reviewed addresses and employment information to confirm identities. We counted contributions that were transferred in from joint fundraising committees Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again Committee. We left out donations made to super PACs, counting just the money that went straight to Trump’s campaign. We reached out to every person we found to get their feedback. It’s possible we missed someone. We’ll continue searching through the 2020 election.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Additional reporting by Giacomo Tognini.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Send me a secure tip.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Michela Tindera</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Staff writer at Forbes. Email me at mtindera@forbes.com and follow me on Twitter @mtindera07.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.opensecrets.org/jfc/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joint fundraising committees can be created by two or more candidates, PACs or party committees to share the costs of fundraising, and split the proceeds. Participants in the JFC can't take any more money from a donor than they could if the money was given directly, but this vehicle allows a donor to write one very large check. Before the 2014 McCutcheon v. FEC decision, the checks donors wrote to JFCs were subject to overall aggregate limits. Following the decision, those limits were removed, opening up the possibility of JFCs that involve many candidates or committees, which can then solicit one donor for a mega-contribution.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">t</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">op 2020 Joint Fundraising Committees</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Committee<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Party<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Total Raised</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump Make America Great Again Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$96,425,977</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump Victory<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$65,163,906</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Take Back the House 2020<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$25,890,934</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>D<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$11,097,283</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scalise Leadership Fund<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$8,205,242</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">McCarthy Victory Fund<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$7,624,559</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>D<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$6,138,700</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cornyn Majority Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$4,110,485</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Perdue Victory<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$3,084,600</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">NRSC Victory<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$2,935,182</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Top 2020 Joint Fundraising Committee Recipients</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Recipient<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Party<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Recipient Type<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Office<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Total</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump, Donald<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>C<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>PRES<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$90,842,796</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican National Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$52,527,375</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Republican Congressional Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$13,197,238</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>D<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$10,117,276</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Republican Senatorial Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$8,425,178</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cornyn, John<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>C<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>TXS1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$2,370,255</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Perdue, David<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>C<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>GAS1<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$2,293,455</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">DNC Services Corp<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>D<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$2,286,871</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Scalise, Steve<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>C<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>LA01<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$2,168,920</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Demaio, Carl<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>C<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>CA50<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,890,067</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.alternet.org/2019/11/don-jr-and-kimberly-guilfoyle-received-50000-for-university-of-florida-speaking-event-at-trump-campaign-officials-request-student-newspaper/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle received $50,000 for University of Florida speaking event at Trump campaign official’s request: Student newspaper</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Written by Alex Henderson November 1, 2019</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">During an October 9, 2006 appearance on Larry King’s show on CNN — ten years before he was elected president of the United States — Donald Trump declared, “I like nepotism.” That is among the most honest things Trump has ever said; he likes nepotism a lot — so much that, according to the student newspaper at the University of Florida, his reelection campaign urged the student body to bring in his son, Donald Trump Jr., for a paid speech given on October 10.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump’s fondness for nepotism has been impossible to miss. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are both senior advisers in his administration — and Donald Trump Jr. is a prominent figure on his 2020 reelection campaign. And as affluent as Trump Jr. is, his father’s campaign was happy to help him earn thousands more, according to the University of Florida’s student newspaper, The Alligator.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump campaign official Caroline Wren, The Alligator reports, directly e-mailed the University of Florida’s student body president, Michael Murphy, in September and asked him to bring in Donald Trump Jr. to speak along with GOP operative Kimberly Guilfoyle (who previously co-hosted “The Five” on Fox News), and Republican National Committee (RNC) official Tommy Hicks. Although Guilfoyle has been very involved in Republican politics, she was once married to a prominent Democrat: California Gov. Gavin Newsom.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@radleybalko</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Student newspaper finds evidence that the Trump campaign arranged for Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle to speak on the UF campus. Which means that Trump Jr. got $50K in mandatory student dues to come campaign for his dad.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;https://twitter.com/AdamWeinstein/status/1189746365745770497?s=20 …</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Adam Weinstein</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@AdamWeinstein</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Emails show a Donald Trump re-election campaign official personally asked UF Student Body President Michael Murphy in September to bring Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle to campus the following month.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Get yourself an indy school paper like UF’s https://www.alligator.org/news/emails-released-between-student-body-president-and-donald-trump-campaign/article_7dad41f0-fb7a-11e9-9b4f-3795b8d7df23.html …</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@AdamWeinstein</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Emails show a Donald Trump re-election campaign official personally asked UF Student Body President Michael Murphy in September to bring Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle to campus the following month.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Get yourself an indy school paper like UF’s https://www.alligator.org/news/emails-released-between-student-body-president-and-donald-trump-campaign/article_7dad41f0-fb7a-11e9-9b4f-3795b8d7df23.html …</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Emails released between Student Body President and Donald Trump campaign official</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle spoke at UF on Oct. 10</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">alligator.org</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brad Po-sometimes-scum-BOO??</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@brad_polumbo</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I feel like Don Jr. isn't the best guy to make the case against nepotism... https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1189896064486252546 …</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Hill</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@thehill</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"I wish my name was Hunter Biden. I could go abroad, make millions off my father’s presidency. I’d be a really rich guy." http://hill.cm/gndFg4I&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">53</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">6:25 AM - Oct 31, 2019</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Twitter Ads info and privacy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">See Brad Po-sometimes-scum-BOO??'s other Tweets</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The $50,000 payment for Trump Jr., Guilfoyle and Hicks (described by The Alligator as a “joint payment”) for the October 10 event was funded by student tuition.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a September 10 e-mail, according to The Alligator, Wren told Murphy, “We met at my house on the 4th of July. I wanted to follow up with you regarding a speaking engagement at the University of Florida for Donald Trump Jr.” And on September 11, Murphy responded and said he would to “love to hop on a phone call” to discuss bringing Trump Jr., Guilfoyle and Hicks to the campus.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wren told The Alligator that, in her e-mails to the University of Florida, she used a Trump campaign-related e-mail signature by accident and that she was communicating “via my private e-mail in my personal capacity and mistakenly forgot to remove my Trump Victory signature.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">fac so</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">So far, 486 donors from Southern states have given as much as they legally can to the Trump campaign, including seven donors who have maxed out their giving to Trump Victory. Texas is home to the most at 209, followed by Florida with 152, Louisiana with 54, and Virginia with 24. Among them are people with deep ties to the oil and gas industry as well as a prominent leader in the private prison business — both industries that have benefited greatly from Trump administration policies. They include:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Kelcy Warren, chair and CEO of Energy Transfer Equity of Dallas. This is the company behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, which sparked months of protests over its route through the Standing Rock Sioux reservation but that was approved by the Trump administration in 2017. Energy Transfer's net income more than quadrupled in 2017 due to the pipeline approval and Trump’s tax legislation, according to Bloomberg. Its stock value has also fared well under Trump, and the company has an inside man in the White House: Energy Secretary Rick Perry was on Energy Transfer's board from 2015 until 2017, when he joined Trump's cabinet. Warren and his wife, Amy, have donated a combined $721,200 to Trump Victory, including the maximum $5,600 each to Trump's campaign.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Syed Javaid Anwar, CEO of Midland Energy in Midland, Texas. Midland Energy is an oil drilling and exploration company founded by Anwar in 1984. Anwar told E&E News that his interest in politics stems from the latest boom-and-bust cycle affecting oil prices, which began about a decade ago. Anwar and his wife, Vicky, have been actively contributing large sums to Republican candidates since 2012; their recent donations included $1.7 million to various Texas Republicans during the 2018 midterms. And now they appear to be jumping full-throttle into presidential giving. Anwar, who is friends with former President George W. Bush, told E&E News that though he was initially skeptical of Trump's candidacy, he wound up donating an unspecified amount to Trump's PAC before the 2016 election. The Anwars have each donated the $5,600 maximum to the Trump campaign, included in their $275,000 contributions each to the Trump Victory Fund.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Saulsbury family of Saulsbury Industries in Odessa, Texas. Saulsbury Industries is a oil and gas conglomerate that engineers and constructs energy infrastructure nationwide, including natural gas processing facilities and oil pipelines. Political contributions are a family affair for the Saulsburys: Father Charles "Dick" Saulsbury Sr., an Arkansas native who founded the company, donated $110,000 to Trump Victory this year while his wife Amelia gave $50,000 and his oldest son Charles "Bubba" Saulsbury Jr. donated $172,500, though none of their donations went directly to the Trump campaign. However, sons Matt and Mark Saulsbury and daughter Diane Zugg have all given the legal maximum to the Trump campaign through donations to Trump Victory. In total, the family has given $560,600 to Trump Victory and $16,800 to the Trump campaign. The family has a history of involvement in conservative Texas politics, while Charles Sr. has been heavily involved in conservative religious and pro-Second Amendment activism.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">George Zoley, CEO of the GEO Group in Boca Raton, Florida. The GEO Group is one of the largest for-profit private prison companies in the country. GEO facilities hold 32 percent of the immigrants detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States, according to 2017 ICE data obtained by the Detention Watch Network. The Trump administration's immigration policies have been lucrative for the GEO Group's bottom line: 23 percent of the company’s revenue came from ICE in 2017, up from 10 percent in 2007, and $480 million in federal funding has been directed from ICE to the GEO Group since Trump's inauguration. On an earnings call with shareholders earlier this year, Zoley told investors that he was "hopeful" that increased federal funding for immigrant detention would, in the words of an inquiring shareholder, "translate into business opportunities."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The ranks of Trump's maxed-out Southern donors also include Duke Buchan III of Florida, an investment manager who is the current ambassador to Spain; Isaac Perlmutter of Florida, the chair of Marvel Entertainment; Christopher Goldsbury of Texas, the former owner of Pace Picante Sauce; and Pat Chazen of Texas, whose husband, Stephen Chazen, is the CEO of Magnolia Oil & Gas, an oil extraction company in South Texas. See the complete list here:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">919</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Committee Name (Last, First)&nbsp; Total YTD Contributions to Committee State Employer Occupation</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY BUCHAN, RICHARD DUKE MR. $360,600 FL HUNTER GLOBAL INVESTORS LP FOUNDER & CEO</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY PERLMUTTER, ISAAC MR. $360,600 FL MARVEL BRANDS LLC EXECUTIVE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY PERLMUTTER, LAURA MRS. $360,600 FL RETIRED RETIRED</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY SEALE, LYSSA $360,600 TX RETIRED RETIRED</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY SEALE, ROBERT H. MR. III $360,600 TX RETIRED RETIRED</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY WARREN, AMY MRS. $360,600 TX AMY WARREN CREATIVE OWNER</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY WARREN, KELCY MR. $360,600 TX ENERGY TRANSFER EQUITY CHAIRMAN AND CEO</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY MOSKOWITZ, CHERNA MRS. $339,000 FL RETIRED RETIRED</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY BYRD, BARNEY D. MR. $325,600 TN GEN CAP AMERICA, INC. PRESIDENT & CEO</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY GOLDSBURY, ANGELA $200,000 TX RETIRED RETIRED</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY GOLDSBURY, CHRISTOPHER MR. JR. $200,000 TX SILVER VENTURES INVESTMENTS</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY ANWAR, SYED JAVAID MR. $175,000 TX MIDLAND ENERGY, INC. CEO/PRESIDENT</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY DUNN, TIMOTHY MR. $150,000 TX CROWNQUEST OPERATING, LLC CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY KLEINHEINZ, JOHN B MR. $135,000 TX KLEINHEINZ CAPITAL PARTNERS INVESTMENT MANAGER</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY COLLIER, MILES C. MR. $125,000 FL COLLIER ENTERPRISES EXECUTIVE</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY COLLIER, PARKER J. MRS. $125,000 FL RETIRED RETIRED</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY CHAZEN, PAT MRS. $125,000 TX HOMEMAKER HOMEMAKER</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY FAVRE, ART E. MR. $105,000 LA PERFORMANCE CONTRACTORS, INC. CONTRACTOR</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY GRAY, ERIC $105,000 LA GRAY INSURANCE COMPANY PRESIDENT</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TRUMP VICTORY GOODMAN, MURRAY H. MR. $100,000 FL SELF-EMPLOYED COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">sjmn 10/18</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Big Peter Thiel donation shows he’s still with Trump</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Billionaire entrepreneur was top donor to the Trump Victory Committee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By Levi Sumagaysay</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">lsumagaysay@bayareanewsgroup.com</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Tech billionaire investor Peter Thiel has again put his money where his mouth is: He’s still with Trump.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With $250,000, Thiel was the biggest donor to the Trump Victory Committee in the most recent quarter, a new Federal Election Commission filing shows.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The donation, dated July 10, appears to be the first donation by Thiel to the organization since the 2016 presidential campaign, when he forked over more than $1 million. He also donated $101,700 to the Republican National Committee July 10, according to a previously released FEC filing.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Thiel, of PayPal Mafia fame and one of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile supporters of President Donald Trump, was joined in this round of donations by United States Steel, which gave $100,000, and Trump attorney Mark Kasowitz, who gave $50,000, and a plethora of retired individuals from around the nation.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Overall, the Trump campaign raked in in $18.1 million last quarter through his campaign committee and two joint committees with the Republican National Committee. He has raised about $106 million since he came into office, according to the Washington Post.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It is unclear what kind of role, if any, Thiel plays in the Trump administration. He played a role during the presidential transition, but there have been reports that he later became critical of the president. Earlier this year, he said during a newspaper interview that “It’s been a crazier two years than I would have thought… There are all these ways that things have fallen short.” But he said he had no regrets about supporting Trump, because “It’s still better than Hillary Clinton or the Republican zombies.” Over the summer, Thiel compared Silicon Valley — which conservatives decry as too liberal — to North Korea, calling it a “oneparty state.” In the July-September quarter, the Victory campaign transferred money to the Republican National Committee, plus spent money on travel expenses, marketing and about $120,000 on the digital consulting services of Parscale Strategy.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Brad Parscale was the digital media director for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign who famously said on “60 Minutes” that Facebook “embeds” — employees who help campaigns use the company’s ad-targeting tools more effectively — helped propel Trump to victory. Parscale is now leading Trump’s 2020 campaign.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A spokesman for Thiel — who was Facebook’s first outside investor and remains a board director of the social media giant — didnot return a request for comment.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2018</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Receipts$22,959,637</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Total Spent$13,218,110Begin Cash$3,163,639</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cash on Hand$12,905,</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">167Debts$0Date of ReportMarch 31, 2018</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">donors&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">T</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">hompson Education Center<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$600,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$600,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stewart & Stevenson<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$585,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$585,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nevada Restaurant Services<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$350,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$350,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Beal Bank<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$344,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$344,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blackstone Group<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$344,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$344,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LDJ Global Strategies<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$300,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$300,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lefrak Organization<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$300,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$300,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">McKinley Capital Management<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$300,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$300,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Buckley Muething Capital Management<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Interactive Brokers<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pere Antoine<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Southern Waste Systems<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Uline Inc<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$240,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$240,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North America Trucking Assns<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$235,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$235,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Avenue Ventures<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$225,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$225,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AG Hill Partners<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ariel Corp<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bollinger Shipyards<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Florida Crystals<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Franklin Resources<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Intentional Software<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,00</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">benefic</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican National Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$5,094,050</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump, Donald<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>C<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Pres<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$4,013,799</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of California<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$623</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of North Dakota<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$514</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Alabama<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$512</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Minnesota<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$502</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Louisiana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$47</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">----</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2016</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican National Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$62,773,757</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump, Donald<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>C<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>Pres<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$13,586,846</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Arkansas<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,594,814</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Wyoming<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,594,328</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of South Carolina<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,594,142</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Tennessee<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,591,660</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Louisiana<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,589,383</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Connecticut Republican Campaign Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,588,041</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Mississippi<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,587,959</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New Jersey Republican State Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,585,752</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of West Virginia<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,585,358</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican Party of Virginia<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,570,459</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">New York Republican Federal Campaign Cmte<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>R<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>P<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,560,61</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">donors&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">s</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">tation Casinos<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,586,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,586,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nevada Restaurant Services<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,447,800<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,447,800</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AVG Advanced Technologies<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,157,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,157,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">National Investment Co<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,098,800<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$1,098,800</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Deason Capital Services<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$901,500<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$901,500</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Houston Texans<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$898,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$898,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Don McGill Toyota & Porsche<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$896,500<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$896,500</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Heritage Bag Co<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$893,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$893,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mountaire Corp<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$893,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$893,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mutual Pharmaceutical<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$893,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$893,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Melaleuca Inc<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$893,200<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$893,200</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Select Management Resources<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$700,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$700,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cerberus Capital Management<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$678,800<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$678,800</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Conklin Co<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$585,800<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$585,800</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">HJ Kalikow & Co<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$550,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$550,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Beal Bank<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$549,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$549,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Pere Antoine<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$549,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$549,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ruffin Companies<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$549,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$549,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Manchester Financial Group<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$539,399<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$539,399</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Uline Inc<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$537,700<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$537,700</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Big-name donors join Trump fundraising team</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">s</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donald Trump, who needs to rapidly raise money for the general election, now has a team of the Republican establishment's biggest donors and fundraisers in his corner.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump and Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus announced in a statement Tuesday that they have signed onto their fundraising efforts some of the most prolific donors and fundraisers in conservative politics.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The big name recruits include Woody Johnson — who owns the New York Jets and was a top fundraiser for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and previous GOP nominees Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — and Diane Hendricks, who is one of the most sought-after mega-donors in Republican politics.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hendricks, a Wisconsin-based roofing tycoon, has an estimated net worth of $4.8 billion, according to Forbes. She gave $5 million to a super-PAC supporting the failed presidential campaign of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. And since 2014, she has given at least $3 million to the political arm of the conservative donor network helmed by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"This is an impressive leadership team comprised of talented individuals working together to unite the party and win what will be the most important election of our lifetime," Trump said in a statement Tuesday.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The money raised is an investment in the Republican Party and the future of our country, which, as president, I am going to make better and stronger than ever before."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Trump Victory Committee, as the joint committee between the party and the Trump campaign is branded, has already begun fundraising and is recruiting finance chairs for all 50 states, the RNC statement said.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Wednesday, the committee will host its first fundraiser at the Los Angeles home of one of Trump's friend, the multimillionaire investor Thomas Barrack.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And while it's a coup for Trump to land a billionaire donor like Hendricks, it's perhaps even more consequential for the RNC and its presumptive nominee to recruit into its fold prominent GOP donor-fundraisers such as Mel Sembler, Ray Washburne, Ronald Weiser and Kelly and Joe Craft.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">They are among the best-known and most-respected fundraisers in conservative politics, and many have deep ties to the Bush family — the closest rivals to the Clintons in U.S. political fundraising today.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">They will likely help normalize Trump and calm concerns that remain among the donor community, particularly concerning some of Trump's more controversial positions, including his opposition to trade deals and his plans to round up and deport 11 million illegal immigrants.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sembler is a longtime Bush family ally who served as ambassador to foreign nations in both Bush administrations. He is supremely connected among conservative donors in Florida. Weiser also served as an ambassador under former President George W. Bush and has a history of generous personal giving and prolific political fundraising.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Washburne is a former RNC national finance chair and was the top fundraiser for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's presidential campaign.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coal billionaire Joe Craft has a history of lavish political spending and fundraising, including giving $1.25 million to Karl Rove's American Crossroads group during the 2012 election cycle, according to FEC records.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The joint fundraising team will be headed by RNC finance chair Lew Eisenberg, and he'll be closely supported by the head of the Trump campaign's fundraising team, New York banker Steve Mnuchin.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We are proud to have put together an experienced and motivated leadership team which is going to raise the support our nominee will need to win the White House," Priebus said in a statement.&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We still have a lot of hard work ahead of us to defeat Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, and I know this team is committed to raising the additional resources that will make the difference in producing victory this November."</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">McConnell surely knew as a participant in high level intelligence briefings in 2016 that our electoral process was under attack by the Russians. Two weeks after the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement in October 2016 that the Russian government had directed the effort to interfere in our electoral process, McConnell's PAC accepted a $1 million donation from Blavatnik's AI-Altep Holdings. The PAC took another $1 million from Blavatnik's AI-Altep Holdings on March 30, 2017, just 10 days after former FBI Director James Comey publicly testified before the House Intelligence Committee about Russia's interference in the election.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And consider Steve Mnuchin, Trump's campaign finance chairman. Could he have known that the Trump Victory Fund, jointly managed by the Republican National Committe and Trump's campaign, took contributions from Intrater and Kukes? Mnuchin owned Hollywood financing company RatPac-Dune with Blavatnik until he sold his stake to accept Trump's appointment as the Treasury secretary.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Which PAC officials are making the decisions to accept these donations?</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Supreme Court</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The contributions are legal because the Supreme Court's 2010 ruling, Citizens United, and several subsequent decisions, allowed American corporations and citizens to give unlimited amounts of money to PACs and non-profit 501c4 organizations, regardless of how they make their money, where they make their money, or with whom they make their money. The only caveat is that PACs and non-profits cannot coordinate their activities with the political candidates they support.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The man who led the winning fight for Citizens United was David Bossie, president of the conservative non-profit since 2001. In 1996, Bossie was hired by Republican Rep. Dan Burton to lead an investigation into President Bill Clinton's campaign fundraising. Burton fired him 18 months later for manipulating recordings of conversations among law officials and Webb Hubbell, a Clinton confidant who resigned as associate attorney general and pleaded guilty to tax fraud during the Whitewater investigation. CNN reported at the time that Newt Gingrich, who was speaker of the House, called Bossie's tampering with the Hubbell recordings an embarrassment to the Republicans.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bossie served as Trump's deputy campaign chairman.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Super PAC, Make America Number 1, is primarily funded by Trump's largest donor, Robert Mercer. His Renaissance Technologies hedge fund donated $15.5 million to the PAC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mercer's daughter, Rebekah, assumed control of Make America Number 1 in September 2016 and is now tainted by her role in the communications between Wikileaks and Cambridge Analytica, the firm that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, hired for $5.9 million to handle the digital portion of the Trump campaign.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Robert and Rebekah Mercer are major investors in Cambridge Analytica. According to The Wall Street Journal, Rebekah Mercer asked Cambridge chief executive Alexander Nix if the firm could compile stolen emails related to Hillary Clinton so that they could be more easily searched. (This suggestion came from someone she met at an event supporting Sen. Ted Cruz, according to The Hill. Cambridge Analytica had worked on digital marketing for Cruz before he dropped out of the Republican primary.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nix confirmed that he had asked Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to forward the Clinton-related emails. Assange said he declined the request.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Rebekah Mercer also heads the non-profit Making America Great, formed in March 2017. The non-profit ran a seven-figure ad campaign highlighting Trump's achievements. Bossie is the group's chief strategist.[russia in brezit w/ c anal?]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Erik Prince, brother of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, contributed $150,000 to Mercer's Make America Number 1 PAC and another $100,000 to the Trump Victory Fund. Prince has recently testified to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence about his trip to the remote Seychelles for a secret meeting in December 2016 with a close ally of Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The purpose of the meeting was allegedly to setup a back channel of communication between then president-elect Donald Trump and the Russians, though Prince has denied this allegation. Before the 2015-16 elections, Prince's political contributions totaled a mere $31,800 as far back as 2007, according to FEC records.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The hybrid super-PAC, The Committee to Defend the President, was formed in 2013 under the name Stop Hillary PAC. It is managed by Dan Backer, the lead attorney who won the McCutcheon vs. Federal Election Commission case in 2014. The Supreme Court decision eliminated the cap on how much wealthy individuals can donate to federal candidates, parties and PACs in a single, two-year election cycle.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Like Bossie, Dan Backer helped to open the floodgates to millions of dollars of influence brought to bear on incumbents and their political challengers who are now pressured to kowtow to their donors with the biggest bank accounts, even if their billions are earned in Russian rubles.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Backer was born in Russia and emigrated with his family to the U.S. in 1978.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The changes to our campaign finance laws created an avenue for Russia to try to influence our elections. There are holes in our firewall and they aren't on the internet.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cyprus is at the center of a circle of corruption surrounding Trump</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Touch chart to see info:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ruth May is a business professor at the University of Dallas and an expert on the economies of Russia and Ukraine. She wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News. Twitter: @ruthcmay</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://www.newsweek.com/real-estate-moguls-bankrolled-trump-victory-are-donating-big-his-reelection-798275</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no link</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Real estate moguls who helped bankroll Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election have contributed more than one-fifth of the money he has raised in a fund since the inauguration, according to a report.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Related: Trump Is ‘Definitely Still Involved’ in His Hotel Business, Employee Says</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donations from New York, Los Angeles and south Florida real estate interests accounted for at least 21 percent of the $16.4 million raised last year for the Trump Victory fund. A joint committee of the Trump campaign and the GOP, the fund allows individuals to give close to $450,000, The Real Deal reported on Thursday.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some top donors to the fund had given generously during the 2016 election and Trump’s inauguration.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The biggest spender in 2017 was Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of the New York City-based Blackstone Group, who donated $344,400 to the fund after contributing $250,000 to Trump’s inaugural committee. Joseph Cayre of Midtown Equities and Bennett LeBow of Vector Group, both from New York, donated $170,000 and $135,000, respectively. Florida-based Nicholas Mastroianni, who founded a EB-5 visa fundraising group, contributed $150,000.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Several donors have publicly stated support for Trump’s policy priorities, particularly tax reform, which is expected to benefit the majority of commercial real estate investors.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Real Deal</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">@trdny</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">&nbsp;After the inauguration, New York, LA and South Florida real estate rewarded Trump with even more money https://therealdeal.com/2018/02/01/after-the-inauguration-new-york-la-and-south-florida-real-estate-rewarded-trump-with-even-more-money/ …</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2:17 PM - Feb 1, 2018</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After the inauguration, New York, LA and South Florida real estate rewarded Trump with even more...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The coastal elite real estate moguls that helped bankroll Donald Trump's 2016 presidential victory didn't stop cutting the checks after their candidat</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some of the funds raised by the joint committee will go directly into Trump’s reelection campaign, but most will be routed to the Republican National Committee and state parties, which have limitated spending options dictated by federal election. The president and his party have another joint committee called the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which raised more money in 2017 but through smaller individual contributions.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump started this year with more than $32 million in the coffers of his reelection campaign and the two affiliated fundraising committees, which collectively raised more than $52 million in 2017, according to Federal Election Commission filings The Washington Post reported on Wednesday. By contrast, former President Barack Obama’s campaign and joint fundraising committee raised no funds in his first year in office in 2009.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and senior adviser to his campaign committee, called the funds raised so far “an unprecedented feat for a sitting President in his first year in office.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Our latest FEC report is just one reflection of a fundamental reality: grassroots support for President Trump is stronger than ever,” she said in a statement to the Post.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.opensecrets.org/jfc/summary.php?id=C00618389</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2018 donors</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">t</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">hompson Education Center<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$600,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$600,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Beal Bank<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$344,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$344,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Blackstone Group<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$344,400<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$344,400</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stewart & Stevenson<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$300,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$300,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Interactive Brokers<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$250,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">North America Trucking Assns<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$235,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$235,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">AG Hill Partners<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Florida Crystals<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Franklin Resources<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Intentional Software<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">LDJ Global Strategies<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lefrak Organization<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$200,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Midtown Equities<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$170,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$170,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Coldwell Banker<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$160,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$160,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">US Immigration Fund<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$150,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$150,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawrence Consulting Co<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$140,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$140,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bsl Capital<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$135,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$135,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Cablevision Systems<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$125,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$125,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MacAndrews & Forbes<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$125,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$125,000</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Madison Square Garden<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$0<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$125,000<span style="white-space:pre"> </span>$125,00o</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">wiki</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Trump Victory Committee is a joint fundraising committee for Donald J. Trump for President (the Donald Trump presidential campaign organization), the Republican National Committee (RNC), and 11 state Republican committees.[1][2] The structure allows donors to give up to $449,400 to support Trump's campaign, far in excess of the legal limit of $2,700 on donations to Donald J. Trump for President alone.[2]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The fund is nominally headed by Reince Priebus and led by RNC finance chair Lew Eisenberg and Trump campaign finance chair Steve Mnuchin.[1][2] Its vice chairs are:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Elliott Broidy</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Woody Johnson, New York Jets owner</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Diane Hendricks, chairwoman of ABC Supply Co.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mel Sembler, a shopping mall developer</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ray Washburne, Dallas-based investor</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Ronald Weiser, former chairman of Michigan Republican Party</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Committee's first fundraising dinners were held on May 24 in Albuquerque and on May 25 in Los Angeles.[1]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">References[edit]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">^ Jump up to:a b c Republican National Committee (2016-05-24). "RNC & Donald J. Trump for President Announce 2016 Trump Victory Leadership Team". GOP. Retrieved 2016-06-08.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">^ Jump up to:a b c Flores, Reena (2016-05-18). "Donald Trump, RNC sign joint fundraising deal". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-06-08.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[show]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">vte</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">(2012 ?)&nbsp; &nbsp; United States presidential election, 2016&nbsp; &nbsp; (? 2020)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">[hide]</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">vte</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Presidency of Donald Trump</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Presidency<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ElectionInternational reactionsTransitionInauguration&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Speech&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Timeline&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">First 100 days2017 Q12017 Q22017 Q32017 Q42018 Q1&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trips&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">20172018International trips&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Appointments&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CabinetEconomic advisorsFederal judgesJustice Neil GorsuchSupreme Court candidates&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dismissals&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sally YatesU.S. attorneysJames Comey&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Disclosure of classified information to RussiaExecutive actionsMexico–United States diplomatic crisis2017-18 North Korea crisisOpinion pollingSpecial Counsel investigationUnited States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Political positions<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EconomyEnvironmentForeign policy&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">as candidateas PresidentAmerica First&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ImmigrationSocial issues&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">marijuana</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaigns<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2000 presidential campaign2016 presidential campaign&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Make America Great AgainRallies&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican primaries&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EndorsementsDebatesConvention&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">General election&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">EndorsementsDebates&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Stop Trump movement&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republican oppositionMitt Romney speech&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Russian interferenceSexual misconduct allegations&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Access Hollywood recording&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2020 presidential campaign&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">rallies</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Protests and pro-Trump</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">demonstrations<span style="white-space:pre"> </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">TimelineImpeachment effortsChicago rallyOakland riotsPortland riotsDisruptJ202017 Women's March&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PortlandSeattlelist&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Travel ban&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">list&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Day Without Immigrants 2017Not My Presidents DayMarch 4 TrumpDay Without a WomanTax MarchMarch for Science&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Portlandlist&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">People's Climate March2017 May Day protestsMarch for TruthTrump Free Speech RallyImpeachment MarchMother of All Rallies2018 Women's March&nbsp;</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">list</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Categories: United States political action committeesDonald Trump presidential campaign, 2016Republican National Committee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/04/soft-money-is-backand-both-parties-are-cashing-in-215456</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Foes of McCain’s effort to restrict political giving welcome the changes. But nonpartisan watchdog groups aren’t happy. The situation is “effectively a form of legalized money laundering and it is something that we’ve seen on both sides,” says Brendan Fischer of the Campaign Legal Center.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Working the system</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took great advantage of this latter-day soft money system as they barreled toward Election Day, the Center for Public Integrity’s review shows.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When, for example, Clinton’s main joint fundraising committee received a contribution, it divvied the money up among Clinton’s campaign committee, the Democratic National Committee and a gaggle of state-level Democratic Party committees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">State Democratic parties then often shifted the money they received from Clinton’s joint fundraising committee right to the DNC, allowing the national committee to pocket significantly more cash than federal contribution limits would appear to allow.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Republicans did the same, an even higher percentage of the time: Republican state parties shifted more than 90 percent of the dollars they received from the Trump Victory committee to the Republican National Committee.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the post-McCutcheon world, this fundraising tactic has vaulted joint fundraising committees out of obscurity and enshrined them as prominent players in federal politics.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">During the 2016 election cycle, for example, Clinton’s joint fundraising committee took in over $300 million more than Barack Obama’s did during the 2008 election cycle, when he was the Democratic nominee.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The new reality has also pushed national parties to court — even more assertively than before — a small cohort of donors who can write them huge checks.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">During the 2016 election cycle, at least 1,700 donors each spread $127,000 or more among federal candidates, party committees and political action committees, the Center for Public Integrity’s analysis of campaign finance data from the Center for Responsive Politics found. The $127,000 figure (adjusted to current dollars) is significant because it represents the so-called aggregate cap, or limit on the amount donors could give all federal candidates, political parties and political action committees combined, that was struck down by McCutcheon.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Combined, that small universe of megadonors injected more than $500 million into federal-level elections in 2016, and slightly more than half of that money was in contributions that would not have been legally permitted before the McCutcheon v. FEC decision, when the aggregate caps were still in place.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Some donors in previous cycles exceeded the limits, despite the law, but the change has funneled hundreds of millions of additional dollars into federal elections, much of it into party coffers. During the 2012 presidential election cycle, only about $16 million went over the limits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The total includes contributions to new accounts Congress created for the parties in December 2014, after the McCutcheon v. FEC decision. Those accounts can accept six-figure contributions, but the money is earmarked for restricted purposes such as convention costs or recount expenses.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The RNC did not respond to requests for comment. The DNC “complied with all FEC requirements,” says spokesman Michael Tyler.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But in a May 2016 email exchange among top Democratic Party officials and their lawyers, released by WikiLeaks, they acknowledged that any formal agreement between state parties and the national party to transfer the money “would raise serious legal question for the DNC.” (The email was prompted by media coverage of some transfers.) Instead, the Democrats said, the party should stress there is “definitely no formal agreement or obligation” requiring the transfers, even though “in practice” state parties, the DNC and the Clinton campaign would move the money where “it will be the most useful.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">How it works</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contributions to Trump’s campaign machine by Julianna Holt, chairwoman of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, show how the nation’s new soft money system works — and how it makes a mockery of campaign finance law.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Holt wrote checks totaling $499,400 in 2016 to the Trump Victory Committee, Trump’s main joint fundraising committee benefiting his presidential campaign and Republicans writ large. Of Holt’s contribution, Trump’s own campaign received $5,400—the legal maximum for a presidential committee. The RNC, meanwhile, received $284,000, split among its general account and several restricted accounts that fund specific projects, such as national conventions or election recounts. Finally, 20 state Republican parties reported receiving $10,000 each from Holt, via her original contribution to Trump’s joint fundraising committee.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But of these 20 state parties, 18 of them held the money only briefly before transferring it to the RNC. The state parties did this by exploiting a law that allows them to transfer unlimited amounts of money to their national party committee cousins.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the end, the transfers from the state parties meant the RNC pulled in an additional $180,000 from Holt. (Holt didn’t respond to an inquiry from the Center for Public Integrity about her contributions and how they were used.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hundreds of other Trump Victory Committee donors had their big-dollar donations used in similar fashion. In all, state Republican parties transferred nearly every dollar they received from the Trump Victory Committee to the RNC—more than $27 million from the committee’s formation in May 2016 to the end of that year, according to the Center for Public Integrity’s analysis.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One state party chairwoman, Terry Lathan of the Alabama Republican Party, said the RNC made it clear to her that the Trump Victory Fund would be sending her state party committee money—and she knew most of it would go to the RNC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“That was perfectly fine,” Lathan said. “We wanted to be team players to help in a presidential election year.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On the Democratic side, donors contributing to the Hillary Victory Fund—and thereby eventually filling the DNC's coffers with bonus cash—included Illinois venture capitalist J.B. Pritzker, media mogul Fred Eychaner and former Dreamworks SKG CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Democratic state parties pocketed about one-fourth of the money they received from Clinton’s joint fundraising committee. But they sent the other three-fourths—at least $84 million—to the DNC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Seth Masket, chairman of the political science department of the University of Denver, notes that political parties have always found innovative ways of adapting their fundraising practices. Often, he says, “reforms are designed to kind of limit their ability to transfer around money or spend money on campaigns and usually parties are very skilled at finding new ways at getting that money to candidates who need them in competitive districts.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In an unusual move, the Hillary Victory Fund itself spent some proceedson advertisements designed to boost Clinton’s campaign. This novel use of political money worried watchdogs who said it effectively violated federal campaign contribution limits by shifting Clinton’s own campaign costs onto groups funded by donors writing six- and seven-figure checks. (By law, 2016 presidential campaign committees could accept contributions of up to only $2,700 per election, per person.)</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">More than two dozen Democratic state parties did not respond to a request for comment from the Center for Public Integrity regarding their transfers to the DNC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">‘Like pinball’</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The 2016 election’s tangled web of soft money transfers makes following political money—often a daunting task even for election lawyers and political reporters—that much more difficult. And that makes it hard for voters to understand what interests are behind the political ads they’re seeing on television, or assess the full influence of a big donor.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The dollars given to the joint fundraising committees ricocheted around “like pinball,” says Daniel Weiner, senior counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, which advocates for campaign finance reform.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But other campaign finance lawyers noted that the transfers, while confusing, represent fundraising coordination between state and national parties—something that’s perfectly permissible and to be expected during the heat of an election season.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Besides, as pro-deregulation campaign finance lawyer Jim Bopp notes, the national parties transfer money “to the states that matter” closer to Election Day, and those critical states then use the money locally.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When Congress passed McCain’s 2002 law, it was responding to a public backlash after a series of scandals that showed the growing influence of corporations, labor unions and big donors writing big checks. Now, campaign finance watchdogs say, the pre-2002 system is essentially back as a result of McCutcheon v. FEC, the 2014 Supreme Court ruling that allowed wealthy Americans to contribute money to as many different federal candidates and political parties as they want. Previously, their overall contributions were capped each election cycle under the “aggregate limit” rule.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The decision didn’t change the base limits that contributors can give to each candidate or political party, but essentially allows donors to give to more recipients than they could before McCutcheon v. FEC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Individuals had been prohibited from giving more than $48,600 combined to all federal candidates and more than $74,600 combined to all parties and political action committees. That meant that per election cycle, contributors weren’t allowed to give more than $123,200 (though campaign finance data suggest some contributors slipped past that limit).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Campaign finance watchdogs warned before McCutcheon v. FEC was decided that it would create a loophole allowing donors to circumvent base contribution limits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The amounts of money involved likely will only grow as joint fundraising committees get bigger.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But supporters of the aggregate limits said, among other things, that the limits prevented donors from circumventing base campaign contribution limits by giving money to other political committees that then transferred it, or used it to support a particular candidate. The Supreme Court found that argument to be insufficient and struck down the limits.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Chief Justice John Roberts wrote it was “divorced from reality” to think the resulting river of cash would be funneled to benefit a single candidate. There are enough legal safeguards in place without the aggregate limits, Roberts argued, to ensure that donors don’t violate the base limits. He also said there were strong First Amendment considerations arguing against the aggregate caps, writing, “The Government may no more restrict how many candidates or causes a donor may support than it may tell a newspaper how many candidates it may endorse.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What Roberts didn’t predict: The money would flow to the national political parties in amounts not seen since the heyday of soft money, when politicians such as McCain and George W. Bush were fighting over how to address it.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There is one key difference between today’s system and the soft-money era, however: Now, the dollars must be used in accordance with federal regulations, as opposed to the nebulous “party building” activities the old, unlimited soft money contributions could be spent on.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Supreme disagreement</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In a blistering dissent that he read from the bench, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Roberts and the majority were making the wrong decision in McCutcheon v. FEC.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The McCutcheon v. FEC ruling “creates a loophole that will allow a single individual to contribute millions of dollars to a political party or to a candidate’s campaign,” he wrote, adding that it “eviscerates our Nation’s campaign finance laws, leaving a remnant incapable of dealing with the grave problems of democratic legitimacy that those laws were intended to resolve.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Now, campaign finance watchdogs say, events have proven Roberts wrong and Breyer right.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Even though the transfers are legal, the practice “drastically undermines the contribution limits, and opens the door wide for corruption to flow from deep-pocketed donors who can write huge checks to the party committees,” says Paul S. Ryan, vice president of Common Cause and formerly of the Campaign Legal Center.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The joint fundraising committees will only grow in size in coming election cycles, as more state party committees join up, observers on both sides of the debate agree. Even though they don’t get to keep the money, the state parties have little incentive not to boost the national parties’ efforts. “The donors are not coming from the state party base,” Ryan points out. “It doesn’t cost them anything, it gains them favor and it helps their party.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But Bopp, a campaign finance lawyer who was part of the legal team involved in bringing the McCutcheon case, says the scenario taking place appears materially different than the one referenced in the McCutcheon v. FEC ruling. That’s because the cash is flowing to national parties, not a candidate.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The point of campaign limits is to avoid corruption, he says, and parties aren’t public officials. “What is different is a particular donor can give to more state parties than those they were limited to in the past,” he says, which was “the whole purpose and point of the case.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">There are some upsides to this brave new money era, political scientists allow—notably the rebuilding of political parties that had atrophied under the old rules. Parties, says Masket, exert “kind of a moderating influence on the system in that they channel most of their funds to the more centrist candidates in the more competitive district,” isolating extremists. Nonetheless, he says, the convoluted path traveled by the money “means declining accountability in the campaign finance system, which is problematic.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“I don’t like these kinds of politics, where money is just circulating in these circuitous ways,” adds Ray La Raja, a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Political operatives see the issue in more practical terms. Alabama businessman Shaun McCutcheon, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that overturned the limits, says his primary motivation was allowing individual donors to give to as many candidates and political committees as they chose. But if the decision in the case that bears his name helps the political parties raise more money and compete with the super PACs that can raise unlimited amounts, he’s happy about that. “That’s a good thing in my opinion,” he says. “A million in the parties is worth a billion in the super PACs. The people in the parties … know how to get a lot more out of their money than some of these super PACs.”</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3/18</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">rump Victory Committee. The Trump Victory Committee is a joint fundraising committee for Donald J. Trump for President (the Donald Trump presidential campaign organization), the Republican National Committee (RNC), and 11 state Republican committees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump Victory Committee - Wikipedia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Victory_Committee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump Victory Committee - Wikipedia</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Victory_Committee</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump Victory Committee. The Trump Victory Committee is a joint fundraising committee for Donald J.Trump for President (the Donald Trump presidential campaign organization), the Republican National Committee (RNC), and 11 state Republican committees.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">How the 'Trump Victory' Fund Works - Wall Street Journal</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">www.wsj.com/...trump-victory-fund.../5443E3EC-CA23-46E0-A9...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">May 18, 2016</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee struck a deal to establish joint fundraising committees ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Donald Trump secures $6 million for Trump Victory fund - CNNPolitics</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/politics/donald-trump-los...fundraiser/index.html</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">May 25, 2016 - Donald Trump's southern California fundraiser Wednesday has already secured $6 million in contributions to the Victory Fund, the joint effort between the real estate mogul's presidential campaign and the Republican Party, according to a source close to the event.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump Victory: Joint Fundraising Committee Summary | OpenSecrets</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.opensecrets.org/jfc/summary.php?id=C00618389</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">OpenSecrets.org has fundraising profiles for all 535 members of Congress (and more).</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Joint Fundraising Committees | OpenSecrets</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.opensecrets.org/jfc/top.php?type=C&cycle=2016</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump Victory, R, $108,424,870. Team Ryan, R, $65,549,125. Hillary Action Fund, D, $46,575,709. Boehner for Speaker Cmte, R, $13,580,470. McCarthy Victory Fund, R, $10,765,771. Democratic Hope Fund, D, $8,995,429. NRSC Targeted State Victory Cmte, R, $8,277,266. Scalise Leadership Fund, R, $7,118,778.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">2020 hopeful McAuliffe launches anti-Trump 'Victory Fund'</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/2020-hopeful-mcauliffe-launches-anti-trump-v...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">May 30, 2017 - Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the longtime Clinton ally who is considering a 2020 presidential bid, on Tuesday launched a "Victory Fund" to attack President Trump and Washington Republicans.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Real Estate Moguls Who Bankrolled Trump Victory Are Donating Big ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">www.newsweek.com/real-estate-moguls-bankrolled-trump-victory-are-donating-big-h...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Feb 2, 2018 - Donations from New York, Los Angeles and south Florida real estate interests accounted for at least 21 percent of the $16.4 million raised last year for the Trump Victory fund. A joint committee of the Trump campaign and the GOP, the fund allows individuals to give close to $450,000, The Real Deal ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Trump victory has given mutual funds and ETFs a $2.9 trillion lift</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.cnbc.com/.../trump-victory-has-given-mutual-funds-and-etfs-a-2-point-9-...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nov 7, 2017 - Since Trump's victory assets under management for mutual and exchange-traded fundssurged about 16 percent, or $2.9 trillion, to $21.1 trillion.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sixty mega-donors gave 30 percent of the money raised by Donald ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../sixty-mega-donors-gave-30-percent-of-the-mone...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Jul 16, 2016 - Sixty mega-donors gave at least $100,000 each to a joint committee raising funds for Donald Trump and the Republican Party, together pouring in $15.4 million from late May until the end of June, new campaign finance records show. The huge sums that flowed into the Trump Victory fundmade up 30 ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Search results for 'Trump Victory Fund' in beneficiary - Political Party ...</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">politicalpartytime.org/search/Beneficiary/Trump%2520Victory%2520Fund/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div>