Trump accused by GOP official of building a multi-million dollar 'slush fund': report

As part of a report on Donald Trump's prowess at raising money despite bans from all the major social media platforms, one Republican official complained about the millions the former president is raking in with no one knowing how he plans to use it.

According to the Post's Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer, as of the end of July Trump's principal fundraising operation was sitting on $100 million while pulling in an estimated $1 to 2 million a week.

In contrast "the National Republican Senatorial Committee declared less than $30 million in cash at the end of September and the National Republican Congressional Committee had $65 million in cash at the same point," they report.

What is concerning to Republicans is how Trump will spend the money with little evidence that any of it will go towards promoting GOP candidates in the 2022 midterms.

According to the report, "Some Republicans have expressed concern about Trump's ambitions sucking money away from other party priorities in advance of the midterm elections. Even as he has raised the issue of electoral fraud in fundraising solicitations, he has spent little to try to prove the election was tainted."

With regard to the 2020 presidential ballot audits that Trump is demanding, one GOP official complained the former president isn't willing to pay for them himself from his cash haul -- instead expecting GOP lawmakers or GOP-dominated legislatures will pick up the tab.

"They aren't paying for audits — they want others to pay for it," the official stated on the condition of anonymity.

That same official claimed, "He is just raising money to have a big slush fund."

The report also notes that Facebook -- where Trump is banned -- is still allowing him to spend $100,000 on ads a week using the platform to raise more cash.

According to the WaPo report, "Facebook allows the ads because Trump is not posting them personally through his suspended account and the ads do not speak in Trump's 'voice,' according to a company spokeswoman," before explaining, "The money raised can be used to finance his current political operation — his staff, his rallies, his travel — until he announces another campaign. At that point, he would have to start fresh with a new account, but with a significant advantage: Advisers may rent back the updated list of donors that Save America has collected to give him a head start. And advisers say he could transfer the money to another outside group that buttresses his bid."

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