RNC should not become a ‘piggy bank’ for President Trump’s legal costs

• Nikki Haley is concerned about President Trump’s efforts to reshuffle the RNC’s leadership.
• “We see him trying to take control of the RNC so he doesn’t have to pay his own legal costs,” she told CNN.
• Trump’s fundraising committee spent about $50 million in legal fees in 2023, according to FEC filings.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley warned Friday that former President Donald Trump is seeking to “take control” of the Republican National Committee and wants to see him use it as a “piggy bank” for legal fees. He added that there was no.

meanwhile speak on CNNHaley said she was concerned that Trump was pushing for new leadership at the RNC after a court found the former president responsible for inflating his net worth and ordered him to pay about $355 million. He told anchor Caitlan Collins.

Interest payments alone could increase this number by about $100 million. And a court ordered President Trump to pay an additional $83.3 million in January after a jury found he had harmed the reputation of author E. Jean Carroll. In a separate case in 2023, another court ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million after he was found responsible for sexual abuse.

“My biggest issue is I don’t want the RNC to be his legal defense fund. I don’t want the RNC to be his personal lawsuit piggy bank,” Haley said. “We’ve already seen him spend $50 million worth of campaign funds on his personal lawsuit.”

“Now we see him trying to take control of the RNC so he doesn’t have to pay his own legal fees,” Haley continued. “The problem is, if the RNC is only focused on legal fees, it’s not going to help them win the House, the Senate, or any other seats. The RNC is essentially bankrupt as it stands. .”

President Trump has expressed support for North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley to replace current RNC Chairman Ronna McDaniel, who is expected to resign after the South Carolina primary on February 24th. The former president also approved the appointment of his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as co-chair of the committee.

During an interview with CNN, Haley slammed President Trump’s increasingly visible involvement in RNC matters.

“He’s trying to control the RNC after trying to make me the candidate and trying to keep me out of the race,” she said. “It’s all so he can get a weapon to pay his legal fees. That’s a fear every Republican should have.”

In 2021 and 2022, before Trump entered the Republican primary, the RNC paid about $2 million to two law firms handling the former president’s case.

Trump’s fundraising committee spent about $50 million in legal fees in 2023, according to campaign finance reports.