Trump Super PACs being shut down by… Trump posted at 4:01 pm on October 24, 2015 by Jazz Shaw
This particular campaign story arc has been rolling out over the course of the week but it’s looking like a smart move on the part of The Donald. Part of his appeal to those preferring an outsider candidate is the fact that Trump will largely self-fund his campaign (with the more recent addition of accepting private, small donor dollars) leaving him free of the influence of the Big Dollar. But some Super PACs popped up which have been supporting the real estate mogul, some with ties to his business empire. This has drawn a lot of criticism in the media with charges of hypocrisy filling the airwaves. Earlier this week Trump took steps to correct the issue, telling the PACs to cease and desist. (Washington Post)
ZitatDonald Trump has asked the nine super PACs that appear to support his presidential campaign to stop raising money using his name, likeness and slogans and to return any donations they have already received. Trump then challenged his Republican and Democratic opponents to do the same and reject “dark money.”
The existence of these super PACs — with names like Make America Great Again and the Art of the Deal — did not match Trump’s campaign promise to self-finance his campaign and only accept small donations that are limited by federal law. The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Trump’s campaign has multiple connections to the Make America Great Again PAC, run by Colorado-based operative Mike Ciletti. That PAC announced Thursday night it is shutting down.
The other question here is what Trump could really do about it. The laws which prevent him from coordinating with the Super PACs would also seemingly forbid him giving them any orders, up to and including telling them to close up shop. But Trump isn’t claiming that sort of power. Instead, he seems to be using his business and legal experience to forbid their using his name, likeness and image to raise money. That would probably carry a lot of weight in court if it came down to it, though the courts likely don’t have much experience with politicians taking people to court to stop them from helping them.