Thread: Pro-Trump super PAC shuts down

Pro-Trump super PAC shuts down

Under growing scrutiny, Make America Great Again PAC goes dark.

By Eli Stokols
10/22/15 07:53 PM EDT

The main super PAC backing Donald Trump is shutting down amidst increasing scrutiny of its ties to Trump’s campaign.

Trump, who has made his independence from wealthy donors a cornerstone of his anti-establishment presidential campaign, never officially blessed the Make America Great super PAC.

But Mike Ciletti, a Republican operative based in Colorado, reportedly used contact information obtained from a top Trump aide to reach out to prospective donors.

Ciletti told POLITICO that his decision Thursday to shut down the organization, which he launched in July in an effort to boost Trump’s candidacy, is an attempt “to erase any questions as to whether he has a super PAC.”

“Mr. Trump has said he doesn’t have a super PAC,” Ciletti continued. “So to honor his wishes, I’m shutting my organization down.”

Ciletti declined to say how much money he was able to raise in roughly four months or whether anyone specifically asked him to shut the organization down. He plans to refund contributions after making sure existing contractual obligations to various vendors (mostly related to voter targeting and advertising) are met.

Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, has insisted that Trump has never blessed or worked with a super PAC, although recent FEC filings revealed that the campaign directed hard dollars to two Colorado-based companies both affiliated with Ciletti.

The campaign paid $33,000 to DC Connect, an Aurora-based company Ciletti founded, for telemarketing from May through July; and it paid $56,000 to WizBang Solutions, a Commerce City-based printing company where Ciletti is the director—both payments first reported by the Washington Post.

"This suggestion that we're doing something wrong is a double-standard," Ciletti said. "I know there’s a common vendor clause, but Jeb Bush has a common fundraiser," he said, referring to the fact that both Bush's campaign and his separate Right to Rise super PAC have made payments to an LLC registered to the address of Bush's campaign fundraiser.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/1...ts-down-215093

I don't know if Ciletti was well-intentioned or not with his Super Pac, but I'm very glad to see this Super Pac shut down.

Donald Trump doesn't want Super Pacs, most Americans don't like them, so please anyone who supports Trump and wants to contribute to his campaign, PLEASE do so directly to his campaign in the amounts as you see fit according to the caps set by law for such.

Donald Trump is going to need financial help, not monetarily, but from a voter commitment standpoint, so anyone who can and wants to should donate, but only directly through the campaign, not a Super Pac.

October 23, 2015 1:03 a.m.

Totally-Not-Trump-Affiliated Super-PAC Shuts Down After Campaign Ties Surface
By Jonah Shepp

Amid mounting scrutiny of its ties to the Donald Trump campaign, the Make America Great Again super-PAC is closing up shop to nip a potential scandal in the bud.

Politico reports that Republican operative Mike Ciletti, who founded the super-PAC in July to promote Trump’s candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, decided to shut it down “to erase any questions as to whether [Trump] has a super-PAC.”

“Mr. Trump has said he doesn’t have a super-PAC,” Ciletti told Politico. “So to honor his wishes, I’m shutting my organization down.”

Earlier this week, the Washington Post revealed that Ciletti had used contact information obtained from the real estate tycoon’s assistant Rhona Graff to solicit funds for the organization. The Post also discovered that the Trump campaign had directed funds totaling $89,000 to two separate companies connected to Ciletti while he was operating the Make America Great Again PAC.

The law prohibits super-PACs, which can accept unlimited donor contributions, from coordinating directly with campaigns, although the inherent murkiness of what constitutes “coordination” is one of the main reasons why advocates of transparency in campaign financing oppose them. Ciletti denies having done anything wrong.

Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski insists that the campaign has not endorsed Make America Great Again or any other super-PAC. Trump has been selling himself to voters as a financially independent candidate with no ties to wealthy donors, and has even criticized his opponents for relying on super-PAC money.

Will this apparent instance of hypocrisy hurt the Trump campaign? Maybe, maybe not. Republican political consultant Alex Castellanos told the New York Times that Trump's in the clear, because “GOP voters want him to do whatever it takes to blow up the establishment.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer...scrutiny.html#

Will this apparent instance of hypocrisy hurt the Trump campaign? Maybe, maybe not. Republican political consultant Alex Castellanos told the New York Times that Trump's in the clear, because “GOP voters want him to do whatever it takes to blow up the establishment.”

There is no hypocrisy. Your own article proves there's no hypocrisy, apparent or otherwise. The fact that it's shutting down and the money being returned to donors proves Trump doesn't want this money collected in the name of his campaign by SUPER PACS. If someone wants to donate to the campaign, donate to the campaign only to help cover real campaign costs and ads whenever he's ready to run them that Trump approves.

Donald Trump to Pro-Trump Super PACs: Drop Dead

By JOHN SANTUCCI

Oct 23, 2015, 10:02 AM ET



Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump wants the super PACs supporting his race for the White House to stop supporting him.

The Trump campaign said they sent letters to the nine known super PACs supporting Trump, stating in part, "We are providing this written notice that your organization is not authorized to use Mr. Trump’s name and likeness in connection with its fundraising activities, and we are formally disavowing such activities. Thus, given the invocation of Donald J. Trump in connection with your activities, we ask that you refund all funds received by you in connection with any fundraising undertaken to specifically support and/or done in the name of Donald J. Trump. ... The campaign has never received money from your PAC, nor does the campaign want any money, services or goods from your committee.”

In a statement, Trump said he is "self-funding my campaign and therefore I will not be controlled by the donors, special interests and lobbyists who have corrupted our politics and politicians for far too long.”

Trump added he is "calling on all Presidential candidates to do the same."

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Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported one of the super PACs, “Make America Great Again PAC,” had several connections to the Trump Organization, including receiving a list of potential supporters from a longtime Trump aide and the in-laws of Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.

The Trump campaign said they will continue to accept unsolicited small donations, which thus far they say have averaged around $50.

During a speech in Las Vegas earlier this month, Trump said it’s those little donations he would feel wrong to turn back.

“We had a woman [donate] $7.59, what do you do? How can you send the money back. First of all it’s too expensive to send it back. It costs you more money to send it back. But we have these little funding -- and it is up, you know, it’s cute, it’s beautiful. They feel invested in your campaign," Trump said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donal...ry?id=34677015