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Save America

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Save America
FormationNovember 9, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-11-09)
FounderDonald Trump
TypePAC – Qualified[1]
Registration no.Federal Election Commission ID: C00762591[1]
Legal statusLeadership political action committee (leadership PAC)[2]
Location
Leadership PAC Sponsor
Donald Trump[1]
Treasurer
Bradley T. Crate[1]
AffiliationsMake America Great Again Super PAC[1]
Staff44 (at least, as of August 2022)[3]

Save America (founded on November 9, 2020) is a leadership political action committee founded and controlled by president-elect Donald Trump.[4][5] It has been Trump's primary fundraising and political spending arm since he left office. The PAC has spent more than $60 million on legal fees for the former president and his allies.[6]

History

[edit]

Former US President Donald Trump founded and controls the Save America leadership political action committee (leadership PAC).[7] Save America was founded and registered with the Federal Election Commission on November 9, 2020, two days after the 2020 presidential election results were declared.[7][8][9] Its treasurer is Bradley T. Crate, who had been Trump's campaign treasurer.[10] It is located in Arlington, Virginia.[11]

Save America has been Trump's primary fundraising and political spending arm since he left office.[5][12][9] ABC News wrote that Trump and his allies "have consistently pushed supporters to donate to the PAC, often using false claims about the 2020 election and soliciting donations to rebuke the multiple investigations into the former president, his business dealings, and his actions on Jan. 6."[7]

Donald Trump dancing with then-First Lady Melania Trump

Trump has used the PAC to pay for his post-presidential rallies, travel, staff expenses, $21.6 million in legal bills (including those of Trump confidants and aides called to testify before the January 6 attack US House committee), and portraits of himself and the former first lady that will one day hang in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery ($650,000).[3][12][13][14][15] Save America has also donated $1 million to the Conservative Partnership Institute (which is linked to former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows); $1 million to the America First Policy Institute (which was started and is partly run by former officials of Trump's administration); $200,000 to Trump Hotel properties; and $132,000 to former first lady Melania Trump’s fashion stylist Hervé Pierre.[8][9][16][17][18]

2022

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In February 2022, Save America paid the legal fees charged by Stefan Passantino, a former Trump deputy White House counsel, to represent unemployed former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who had been served with a subpoena by the January 6 attack US House Committee.[19] After she was deposed, Hutchinson received a call from a top aide to Mark Meadows saying: "Mark wants me to let you know that he knows you’re loyal, and he knows you’ll do the right thing tomorrow and that you’re going to protect him and the boss."[19] Concerned that her testimony was being conveyed to Trump, and suspecting Passantino's legal team of leaking it to him, she terminated Passantino's representation of her.[19][20] Hutchinson then hired attorney Jody Hunt, who agreed to represent her on a pro bono basis.[19]

As of June 2022, over 60% of contributions to Save America were from retirees.[3]

Spending by Save America increased in August 2022 to over $6.3 million, its highest monthly total of the year to that point in time.[21] That month Save America made a contribution of $150,000 to Wyoming Values, a super PAC working to defeat Republican US Representative Liz Cheney.[21] The PAC began September 2022 with over $92 million in cash.[21][22]

In October 2022 the PAC transferred $20 million to Trump's new MAGA Inc. Super PAC.[23] In November 2022, the campaign finance watchdog Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that the transfer was inappropriate inasmuch as Trump was already a presidential candidate when he made the transfer.[24]

In November 2022, when Trump began his 2024 campaign for president, 99 cents out of every dollar that he raised online went to his campaign.[13] One penny went to Save America.[13] However, in February or March 2023 he adjusted that split, so that 90 cents of every dollar donated to him goes to his campaign, and 10% of donations go to Save America.[13][25] Because generally a PAC such as Save America cannot spend money directly on the candidate's campaign, and conversely his campaign committee cannot directly pay for things that benefit the candidate personally, Save America can pay Trump's legal expenses, whereas his campaign cannot.[6][13]

2023

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In January 2023, Save America had $18 million of cash on hand.[13] Through that date, the states from which it had raised the most money from residents were Virginia ($12 million), California ($8 million), and Texas ($7 million).[1]

In June 2023, Trump's valet Walt Nauta was indicted by a federal grand jury; Save America is paying Nauta's legal bills.[26][27] Nauta was charged with moving boxes at Trump's direction that included allegedly illegally retained classified documents and national defense-related documents to Trump's residence, and then lying about it to federal investigators.[27][28] The charges are punishable by up to 90 years in prison, if Nauta is convicted.[27][29]

As of July 1, 2023, Save America had less than $4 million.[30][31] It requested a $60 million refund of a donation it had previously sent to Trump's MAGA Inc. Super PAC, which money had been intended for television commercials to help Trump's candidacy.[31] It had spent $21.6 million on Trump-related legal fees in the first half of 2023, out of $25 million the PAC had spent overall in that time period.[30]

Investigation of PAC

[edit]

It was reported in September 2022 that a Washington, D.C., federal grand jury had issued subpoenas to several witnesses seeking information related to the formation, fundraising activities, and receipts of monies and expenditures of Save America.[7][14][17][21] Among those subpoenaed were junior and mid-level aides to Trump during and after his presidency, Nicholas Luna (former personal assistant to Trump), the chief financial officer for Trump's 2020 campaign, and the former chief of staff for Ivanka Trump.[8] Dozens of subpoenas have been issued to companies that received money from Save America, including law firms.[32]

See also

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  • Great America PAC, a super PAC that supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election
  • America PAC, a super PAC that supported Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Save America – committee overview". Federal Election Commission. January 2023. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Statement of Organization; Save America; FEC Form 1," Archived 2023-02-03 at the Wayback Machine Federal Election Commission.
  3. ^ a b c Hartmann, Margaret (August 23, 2022). "Trump to 'Save America' by Putting Portrait in Smithsonian". New York Magazine. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  4. ^ Kates, Graham (November 18, 2022). "Trump PAC, Republican Party paid law firms in Trump Organization criminal trial". CBS News. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Bowman, Bridget; Kamisar, Ben (December 9, 2022). "Trump's super PAC has $53.4 million for his 2024 bid; Trump's Save America PAC largely funded the new super PAC, MAGA, Inc". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Piper, Jessica (April 20, 2024). "Trump's super PAC has helped foot his legal bills. That might end soon". Politico.
  7. ^ a b c d Mangan, Dan (September 8, 2022). "Trump Save America PAC formation and spending eyed by federal grand jury, reports say". CNBC. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Rissman, Kelly (September 11, 2022). "Report: Federal Grand Jury Eyeing Trump's Save America PAC". Vanity Fair.
  9. ^ a b c Feuer, Alan; Haberman, Maggie; Goldman, Adam; Vogel, Kenneth P. (September 8, 2022). "Trump's Post-Election Fund-Raising Comes Under Scrutiny by Justice Dept.; A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas seeking information about Save America PAC, which was formed as Donald J. Trump promoted baseless assertions about election fraud". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  10. ^ Pindell, James (November 9, 2020). "What Trump is doing right now is not about winning". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  11. ^ "PAC Profile: Save America". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Colvin, Jill; Slodysko, Brian; Tucker, Eric (September 13, 2022). "Trump's PAC faces scrutiny amid intensifying legal probes". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Goldmacher, Shane; Haberman, Maggie (June 25, 2023). "As Legal Fees Mount, Trump Steers Donations Into PAC That Has Covered Them". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Federal grand jury probing Trump's Save America leadership PAC, reports say". CBS News. September 9, 2022. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  15. ^ Lange, Jason; Layne, Nathan (May 4, 2023). "Pro-Trump group powers surge in early US super PAC spending". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  16. ^ Hagstrom, Anders (February 1, 2023). "Trump political PAC paid Melania's hair stylist at least $132K for 'strategy consulting': report'; Herve Pierre Braillard has also made dresses and hats for Melania in the past". Fox News. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Durkee, Alison (September 8, 2022). "Trump's Save America PAC Under Investigation In January 6 Probe". Forbes. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  18. ^ Looker, Rachel (August 11, 2022). "Donald Trump's Save America PAC was formed to fight debunked election fraud claims after he lost the 2020 election. Here's what you need to know about what the fund does and how it spends". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d Draper, Robert; Broadwater, Luke; Montgomery, Philip (December 23, 2022). "Inside the Jan. 6 Committee". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  20. ^ Haberman, Maggie (February 21, 2023). "Trump Spent $10 Million From His PAC on His Legal Bills Last Year; Now that the former president is a declared candidate again, there are questions about whether he can continue using donor funds to pay his lawyers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d Schouten, Fredreka (September 21, 2022). "Spending by Trump's Save America PAC surges amid legal battles over Mar-a-Lago search". CNN. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  22. ^ Colvin, Jill (September 23, 2022). "Donald Trump allies create a new super PAC called MAGA Inc". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  23. ^ Leary, Alex (October 31, 2022). "Trump Transfers $20 Million From Save America PAC to MAGA PAC". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  24. ^ Perkins, Tom (January 3, 2023). "Trump seems to have a large war chest–but is he struggling to raise money?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  25. ^ Bowden, John (June 26, 2023). "Trump is funneling 10% of 2024 campaign donations to cover his legal bills". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  26. ^ Ainsley, Julia; Haake, Garrett; Edelman, Adam; O'Donnell, Kelly (June 9, 2023). "Trump aide Walt Nauta also indicted in classified documents case". NBC News. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c Hurley, Bevan (June 14, 2023). "Who is Walt Nauta? Donald Trump's 'body man' charged over classified documents?; Guam-born valet finds himself thrust into the centre of the most high profile criminal investigation in the country". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  28. ^ Perez, Evan; Murray, Sara; Sneed, Tierney; Herb, Jeremy (June 9, 2023). "Trump aide Walt Nauta indicted in classified documents case". CNN. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  29. ^ Bailey, Chelsea (June 9, 2023). "Who is Walt Nauta, the aide charged alongside Donald Trump?". BBC. Archived from the original on June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Gómez, Fin; Watson, Kathryn (August 1, 2023). "Here's what Trump PAC Save America has spent on Trump's legal bills this year". CBS News.
  31. ^ a b Haberman, Maggie; Goldmacher, Shane; Swan, Jonathan (August 1, 2023). "After Paying Lawyers, Trump's PAC Is Nearly Broke". The New York Times.
  32. ^ Feuer, Alan; Thrush, Glenn (April 13, 2023). "Witness Testimony Helps Prosecutors Advance Trump Election Case". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
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