Former president donald trumpTrump’s political operation has routed more than $3 million so far this year through a Delaware limited liability company whose owners are not publicly disclosed, according to campaign finance records — a strategy that reflects previous efforts to mask exactly how your campaign is spending donor money.
The money was paid to Launchpad Strategies LLC, a company that appears to have been incorporated in Delaware in November, according to state business records, and lists a Raleigh, North Carolina, P.O. box as its address in campaign finance records. Since it was formally incorporated, the company has received $3.1 million in payments from the Trump campaign and an affiliated joint fundraising committee.
The payments add up to make the company the second-largest vendor used this year by the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, which is a financial hub for Trump’s fundraising efforts, with contributions then split between him and other committees with based on a formula. In this case, contributions are shared with the formal campaign and with Save America, a committee that helped pay millions of dollars in Trump’s legal bills.
The joint fundraising committee spent nearly $2.8 million with Launchpad Strategies, according to campaign finance records updated through April.
Little is known about Launchpad Strategies LLC other than its existence and the millions of dollars it raised from a presidential campaign.
He has never performed other political work for state or federal candidates, according to state and federal campaign finance disclosure records. The first payment from the Trump operation was on December 18, just over a month after the company appeared to have been incorporated in Delaware.
O company website does not offer information about the services it offers or who manages it. A contact page that gives people a place to get in touch and ask questions appears inactive, and several requests for comment that NBC News tried to send through the site went unanswered.
Although the company uses the Raleigh P.O. box as its address in federal campaign finance reports, North Carolina state officials confirmed to NBC News last week that no company with that name is registered in the state.
“We do not have a business entity by that name in our Business Registration database,” said Liz Proctor, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Secretary of State.
The Trump campaign declined to discuss details other than to say it is focused on fundraising.
“This is a digital advertising company focused primarily on our fundraising,” said Brian Hughes, a Trump campaign spokesman. “As you noted, the FEC documents include your listing in compliance with our reporting obligations.”
Campaign finance watchdog organizations said the nearly anonymous relationship between the company and the campaign raises red flags and reminds them of past attempts by the Trump campaign to mask how donors’ money was being spent.
“It is concerning to see a company formed just six months ago suddenly receive more than $3.1 million from Donald Trump’s network of political committees, especially since there is virtually no public information about this company,” said campaign director Saurav Ghosh. campaign legal center. financial reform. “Who works there, what services they offer or have provided, and whether Trump’s payments to ‘Launchpad Strategies LLC’ are for bona fide services or are in fact payments to other vendors funneled through a mere corporate shell.”
The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission after the 2020 election cycle, alleging that Trump’s campaign lasted more than US$500 million through a company called American Made Media Consultants, which allegedly appeared to be a shell company designed to hide exactly who the campaign was paying.
The FEC reached an impasse and the complaint was rejected.
In April, the Campaign Legal Center also filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that a network of Trump-aligned organizations were working with a Republican compliance firm called Red Curve Solutions to “hide the true recipients of a notable potion from Trump’s legal projects.”
The Campaign Legal Center says pushing for transparency in campaign spending is an important part of the federal campaign process.
“Transparency about how political campaigns are spending their donors’ money is vital to the integrity of our elections,” Ghosh said. “Voters have a right to know how candidates are spending their money when deciding who to support in November.”
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
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