Nothing can stop the RNC’s rogue alliance with Trump

The Republican National Committee work for no apologies because the select tab because the Former President Donald Trumpof legal bills, even if the charges have nothing to do with his official duties, or its mission as a political party. There should be a law against such obvious conflicts of interest, but there isn’t, though Federal Election Commission for years urged Congress to extend the “personal use ban” to funds received from party committees at all levels.

“I don’t think they’re telling people, ‘Let’s write a check so we can cover the ex-president’s legal expenses before he took office.’ Wouldn’t that make for an interesting fundraising call? ” Norm Eisen, an expert on government corruption and ethics.

The former president is exploiting a weakness in the law to suit his needs. After a original dust cover about the RNC paying its attorneys, Trump threatened to bail out the GOP, hinting that he could form a third party. That brought RNC President Ronna McDaniel Romney to the fort. No Trump, no party. Paying his lawyer is the loyalty that the boss requires.

David Cay Johnston, a journalist who has written extensively about Trump, taxes and his adverse business practices, said: “Donald is a master at figuring out how to benefit you to solve problems. mine. Suggesting bad things could happen if he doesn’t get his way is how Trump – like a typical gangster – operates on his will.

“If Donald runs as an independent, that will sink the party. They had to keep Donald inside the tent because if he bailed, the party would be over,” added Johnston.

It fits the way Trump does business, reducing bills and inflating assets when necessary, defusing them when necessary. News that the longtime Trump family accountants, Mazars USA, cut off their relationship and advised New York’s attorney general that the Trump Organization’s financial reporting for the past 10 years was unreliable is “another signal of his boiling water,” Eisen said.

“His only great skill is his ability to skate on the edge of the law without falling off the edge,” says Eisen. The Daily Beast. “The extraordinary genius of illegality is about to be broken.”

Compared with all the legal challenges Trump is facing, the RNC’s payment of his bills seems insignificant. But this kind of self-indulgence will disqualify party donors. “He raised more than $122 million after leaving office,” said Paul Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common cause. “I’m on Trump’s email list. He is lying to his sponsors that he is raising money to fight what he claims is wrong is a stolen election. “

The RNC isn’t breaking any laws, but funding Trump’s lawyers isn’t what they’re advertising. “I suspect most people think their donations are to support candidates,” Ryan said. “The RNC, by paying Trump’s legal bills, is helping a bully who left office over a year ago with his personal legal bills.”

Johnston said that Congress could end the practice “in two seconds”. Lawmakers are not allowed to transfer campaign funds for personal use, but the “personal use ban” does not apply to party committees, RNCs and DNCs.

Ryan warns against reading too much into that. Congress often overlooks a lot of things, and with Mitch McConnell heading the GOP team in the Senate, any attempt to reform campaign finance is dead.

The evil alliance between Trump and the RNC will continue as long as Trump remains essential to the GOP, or until Trump’s legal problems overwhelm what the RNC can do that has nothing to do with defending itself. Yes discussions have been conducted on the extent of the US government’s obligation to protect Trump if he is charged with incitement on January 6, which falls outside his presidential duties.

Johnston, who told The Daily Beast, has a tax obligation to pay for the legal bills the RNC has paid them, and if not, it’s a crime, a tax crime. They have to report it.”

Telling Trump to do anything is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. The former president has spent his life defying the rules and largely ignoring it. That winning streak may be coming to an end, but we’re not there yet. Since leaving the White House, Trump and his family have goods just about everything to do with the presidency and his personality. Of the $122 million in chests he had accumulated, he spent very little.

“His revealing reports show that he is overspending and he has yet to spend much. What does he reserve it for? ‘ Ryan asked. “Legally, he can’t use it for 2024 — although his lawyers can work around that.”

Ryan is alluding to a campaign finance law that prohibits using money raised under the auspices of others, in Trump’s case, to reclaim an election that was allegedly stolen. That money cannot easily be transferred to a presidential campaign. But it still begs the question, what is he going to do with this money?

He can use it to bankroll his favored candidates for the upcoming midterms. “This is not a man who freely distributes cash to anyone,” says Eisen. “He expressed his approval of favored candidates, demeaning them, embarrassing them, the way he did. Probationer“, the show that he hosted cemented his global reputation.

Trump loves to watch candidates compete against each other for approval and holds lavish events at Mar-A-Lago, contributing to his bottom line.

“Now that he is out of office, if you want Trump to endorse, you have to take his wallet,” Ryan said. “Nothing is illegal, but it’s like Pay to Play.”

Or Trump could use his war chest to pay his legal bills. How things are going, he might need it for that.