Trump campaign issues statement blasting rogue fundraising groups after Trump ally group accused of false advertising – By Meridith McGraw, Allison Pecorsin and Soo Rin Kim (ABC News) / May 7 2019
The Trump campaign Tuesday released a tough statement that “condemns any organization that deceptively uses the President’s name, likeness, trademarks, or branding and confuses voters.”
The statement comes after a joint-report by Axios and Washington-based watchdog group Campaign Legal Center that Trump ally David Bossie’s political organization, the Presidential Coalition, raised millions of dollars using President Trump’s likeness and name but that money mostly went to administrative costs and salaries, and not to helping conservative candidates as advertised. ABC News has not independently confirmed this report.
The Trump campaign stated that they encourage “authorities to investigate all alleged scam groups for potential illegal activities.”
Bossie refuted Axios’ characterization of his organization in a statement to the publication, calling the story “fake news brought to you by a collaboration of the biased liberal media and unabashed left-wing activists.”
Bossie also told Axios that the analysis “totally ignores the legitimate staff, infrastructure and other political activity costs associated with the organization’s work,” adding that “it is expensive to raise substantial amounts in small donor contributions using direct mail, digital, and telemarketing.”
Bossie has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
As ABC News has previously reported, President Trump’s re-election campaign raised more than $30 million in the first three months of this year, with nearly $41 million cash on hand, according to latest disclosure reports filed to the Federal Election Commission.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
David Bossie, president of Citizens United, gestures during South Carolina Freedom Summit hosted by Citizens United and Congressman Jeff Duncan in Greenville, S.C., May 9, 2015.
A portion of the money raised by the Trump campaign came from two joint fundraising committees between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, Trump Victory and Trump Make American Great Again. Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again raised $8 million and $23 million respectively in the first quarter of 2019.
Super PAC America First Action, another one of the “official fundraising organizations authorized by President Trump,” hasn’t reported its fundraising figures this year yet because it’s not required to file another report until July, but raised more than $39 million and spent more than $36 million during the 2018 election cycle.
As an outside group that makes independent expenditures, America First Action is prohibited from coordinating with the campaign.
Bossie is a longtime advisor to President Trump serving as deputy campaign manager in the final months of the campaign. A close confidant, Bossie has written two books since Trump assumed office and has often been spotted joining the president on the campaign trail in the last several months.
