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Donald Trump's Stop the Steal: Why you should NOT donate less than $8000 to 'election defense'? Here's the loophole

'Trump is scamming the very people who think he will save them! He knows he lost and that there’s no fraud, but he wants to continue getting that sweet money,' a user wrote

As President Donald Trump continues to make claims about alleged "voters fraud", his team has bombarded his supporters with requests to pay for legal challenges of the battle as one text reads, “The Left will try to STEAL this election!”

According to a Reuters report, the small amount of donations won't be going to the "legal expenses" account at all, as a donor would have to donate more than $8,000 before any money goes to the "recount account." The funds will be used to finance election challenges, including recounts and lawsuits over alleged improprieties, the fundraising disclosures show.

The emailed appeal directs supporters to an “Official Election Defense Fund” website where they have to sign up for recurring donations to “protect the results and keep fighting even after Election Day.” A large part of the funds goes to “Save America,” a Trump leadership PAC, or political action committee, set up on Monday, November 9, and the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Under Federal Election Commission rules, both groups have broad freedom in how they can use the funds. Leadership PACs such as Save America are usually set up by prominent political personalities to spend money on other candidates, while also paying for personal expenses, such as travel and hotel stays.

The revelations would let Trump and the RNC direct the donations into other political causes or campaigns, such as the two high-stakes January Senate runoff races in Georgia that could decide control of the Senate and are expected to rank among the most expensive races in U.S. history. Trump’s solicitation website has a banner headline that says “OFFICIAL ELECTION DEFENSE FUND” and “CONTRIBUTE NOW.”

Scrolling down the page would take a contributor to the fine print, which shows that donations are divided between 'Save America,' which receives 60% of the money, and the RNC, which gets the other 40%. None of the money goes to Trump’s official 'recount' committee fund until Trump’s Save America share reaches the legal contribution limit of $5,000, according to the disclosures. That means that, before a single dollar goes into the recount fund, Save America would receive $5,000 and the RNC around $3,300. Donations to the recount committee are legally limited to $2,800.

So, if a Trump donor donates $500, then $300 would go to Trump’s 'Save America' PAC, $200 would to the RNC and nothing would go to his election defense fund. One Republican political strategist said Trump is misleading his supporters and followers who will be donating small amounts by using the money, in whatever cause he approves. “It’s important to be up front with people - especially those who are digging deep into their pockets to come up with $25,” said Michael DuHaime, a former political director at the RNC. “If you tell them it’s going for legal fees, well then it should go for legal fees," he said.

As soon as the news of the donation of $8000 to Trump ‘election defense’ made its way to social media, people started reacting to it, as one Internet user asked, "Why does a billionaire need to beg for money from working people? Shouldn't he spend his money for once? Some people just ask to be ripped off." Questioning the alleged "loophole" one wrote, "I thought Trump and his family were banned from charities are other fundraising efforts due to previous fraud with his charities? Is this some sort of loop hole?"

While one person shocked with the whopping amount wrote, "Who the hell is donating more than $8000 to this farce!? My god, we are in the midst of a global pandemic and economic crisis, and there are still people who he expects to donate more than $8000, to a cause, where he’s shown no actual concrete evidence!?" To which another one replied saying, "Are you not seeing the threats all over Twitter today? They are literally threatening Joe and Kamala, and saying we will all pay"

Accusing him, another one wrote, "Trump is scamming the very people who think he will save them! He knows he lost and that there’s no fraud, but he wants to continue getting that sweet money from his supporters for his own pac." Calling his supporters a "cult" now said, "The fleecing of the MAGA cult continues and they happily open their wallets."