NEW YORK – (CNN) The main super PAC supporting Donald Trump’s presidential bid is ending its operations, a consultant with the group told CNN Thursday night.
The Make America Great Again PAC is shutting down amid a flurry of scrutiny centered on the group and its ties to the Trump campaign, one built in part on Trump’s relentless assertion that unlike other politicians, he isn’t beholden to deep-pocketed donors and special interests. The PAC is also linked to a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization in the same name, which can raise unlimited contributions from anonymous donors.
“All activities/committees related to Make America Great Again will be shut down,” Mike Ciletti, a consultant with the PAC, told CNN. “As I have said from the start, I believe the focus should be on the issues and the candidates.”
The super PAC’s shuttering was first reported by Politico.
Trump’s campaign has repeatedly insisted that it never sanctioned the establishment or operations of any super PAC, including Make America Great Again.
Still, Trump had attended at least two fundraising events that benefited Make America Great Again, including one hosted at the home of his daughter’s in-laws, Charles and Seryl Kushner. Seryl Kushner donated $100,000 to the super PAC, a source close to the family told CNN in August.
And this week, the Washington Post revealed ties between Ciletti and the Trump campaign — notably that Ciletti reportedly met with Trump’s soon-to-be campaign officials in the lead-up to Trump’s official campaign launch in June.
The Trump campaign has also paid Ciletti’s company, WizBang Solutions, to print T-shirts and business cards.
Trump has denied any involvement or knowledge of the super PAC and in his stump speech, the mogul often highlights a claim that he rejected a $5 million donation from a lobbyist he knows.
“He said, ‘Donald, I want to put $5 million into your campaign.’ I said, ‘I don’t need it; I don’t want it.’ He said, ‘No, no, I want to put five million in’” Trump recounts. “I said, ‘I don’t want it. Because when you come back to me in two years and you want help for a company that you’re representing, or a country that you’re representing, I’m going to do the right thing for the people of the United States.”
A single individual cannot legally donate $5 million to a campaign due to campaign finance laws. He could, though, contribute in unlimited amounts to a super PAC.
The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2015 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. (PHOTO: CNN)
