Trump 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' with new RNC gambit: ethics watchdog

Donald Trump has effectively taken control of the Republican National Committee during an important election cycle, and that's probably bad news for down-ticket candidates.

The former president hand-picked daughter-in-law Lara Trump to co-chair the RNC, and she made clear the organization's primary focus – indeed, possibly its only priority – is re-electing the twice-impeached, quadruple-indicted GOP nominee who's gone one-for-two in his past campaigns, reported The Daily Beast.

“Every single penny will go to the No. 1 – and the only job of the RNC — that is electing Donald J. Trump as president of the United States,” Lara Trump told Newsmax this week.

A senior Trump campaign official insisted the RNC would not be paying the ex-president's legal bills, but he's stacking the deck with senior adviser Chris LaCivita as the RNC’s likely new chief operating officer and loyalist Michael Watley as his choice to lead the RNC – and those additions stand out.

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"The previous RNC co-chairs each brought institutional experience to the table — Drew McKissick was a grassroots specialist and the co-chair before him, Tommy Hicks, had deep ties to deep pockets," wrote senior political reporter Roger Sollenberger.

"But if the RNC is only going to operate with Trump in mind, it’ll be a massive blow to down-ballot Republicans and state parties desperate for the cash infusion they usually get in presidential election years," Sollenberger added. "And even if Trump doesn’t seize RNC cash for his own purposes, the prospect of him doing so could very well have a chilling effect on donors turning over their cash."

Giving Trump more control over RNC finances couldn't come at a worse time, with the party coming off a historically bad fundraising year and many state GOP groups financially struggling and disorganized, and a government watchdog said the former president's need for cash could carry major consequences for down-ballot candidates.

“Trump’s money operation since leaving office has not centered around winning elections, but using donor money to pay for the attorneys representing him and his associates,” said Jordan Libowitz, communications director for watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

The ex-president's legal bills are just part of the deal that the party and donors understand, according official involved with his re-election efforts.

“Republican donors generally wouldn’t view the RNC paying his legal bills as a negative — they understand that it’s inherently a political expense,” that person said. “Trump not being convicted before the election — or not going on trial before the election — is by itself worth more than any advertising campaign, and I think Democrats would agree."

But if Trump siphons cash away from congressional races to pay off his legal bills, that could force Republicans to take some swing states off the board or rely on less-efficient outside groups.

“He’s robbing Peter to pay Paul," Libowitz said, "because this is donor money given to win an election, that he’s now claiming for his own personal purposes."

Republican insiders are concerned about Trump's bottomless appetite for cash and his history of personal expenditures using campaign money.

“If people think their money is going to go to hair and makeup or legal bills, they’re far less likely to give anything at all — even if it’s really for voter contact,” said one veteran GOP strategist. “So in a way, the stench of irresponsible spending is just as bad as actually spending it poorly.”