Trump warns Republicans not to 'siphon money' from him by fundraising off convictions

Donald Trump made history on Thursday when he was convicted of more than 30 felonies in New York. He then immediately went on a fundraising spree in which he cast himself as a victim of a rigged system.

But putting his own fundraisers out after the guilty verdict wasn't enough, according to a new report. He's now warning fellow Republicans to keep away, Politico reported.

"Donald Trump’s campaign is sending a blunt message to down ballot Republicans who are looking to fundraise for themselves off of the ex-president’s conviction: Back off," the outlet reported. "Trump’s political operation views the guilty verdict in the New York hush money trial as a small-dollar goldmine — so much so that they are warning other Republicans not to raise money off it and siphon off money that could otherwise go to the Trump campaign."

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The article goes on to quote Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita, who reportedly said that, "Any Republican elected official, candidate or party committee siphoning money from President Trump’s donors are no better than Judge Merchan’s daughter... We’re keeping a list, we’ll be checking it twice and we aren’t in the spirit of Christmas.”

Politico states that "Trump’s campaign has sent out a stream of fundraising appeals to prospective donors – one text message sent Thursday evening asked supporters to 'Stand with' Trump 'following this injustice' — with an eye toward filling its coffers."

"But they aren’t alone. Some candidates, such as Colorado Republican Dave Williams, have been looking to direct proceeds to themselves," according to the outlet's reporting.

"Williams, who is running for a congressional seat and has received Trump’s endorsement, sent out a fundraising message in which he derided the conviction as a 'disgrace and mockery of the principles our nation was founded on,'" the report states. "The message included a red button asking donors to 'STAND WITH TRUMP & DAVE' But after clicking on it, contributors are sent to a landing page in which donations are solely sent to Williams. The Williams campaign did not respond to a request for comment."

Read the article here.