President Trump broke with longtime associate David Bossie on Tuesday, with Trump’s 2020 campaign accusing an organization run by Bossie of “deceptive” fundraising and calling for its investigation.
“The president was livid when he learned about what David Bossie’s group was doing,” a person close to the campaign and familiar with the president’s thinking told the Washington Examiner. “He thought it was unconscionable to trick people into thinking they were donating to the Trump campaign when they were not.”
Bossie served as Trump’s deputy campaign manager in 2016 and interviewed with Trump in December for the position of White House chief of staff. On Sunday, the Campaign Legal Center and Axios reported that a Bossie-run group called the Presidential Coalition raised $18.5 million in 2017 and 2018 but spent just $425,000 on political activities.
Another $15 million was spent on fundraising, salaries, and purchases of Bossie’s book Trump’s Enemies, which he co-authored with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. The book was released last year with an open-bar book party at Trump’s hotel in Washington.
Direct-mail solicitations for the Presidential Coalition gave an address on Pennsylvania Ave. and depicted an emblem resembling the presidential seal.
“This is an opportunity to send a warning to anyone who would exploit this president for financial gain,” said a second person familiar with the situation. “This is what people do in the swamp, not in Trump world.”
The Trump campaign’s statement did not name Bossie, but its stinging rebuke made clear his conduct was the subject.
The statement said: “There is no excuse for any group, including ones run by people who claim to be part of our ‘coalition,’ to suggest they directly support President Trump’s re-election or any other candidates, when in fact their actions show they are interested in filling their own pockets with money from innocent Americans’ paychecks, and sadly, retirements. We encourage the appropriate authorities to investigate all alleged scam groups for potential illegal activities.”
Bossie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is not immediately clear what federal agency would investigate Bossie. His group was set up as a tax-exempt 527 organization with the IRS, rather than as a political action committee with the Federal Election Commission.
A source close to the campaign said there are many deceptive fundraising groups, but that Bossie’s role is unique.
“There are hundreds of such groups,” the source said. “This one was particularly egregious because it was run by somebody the president was close to.”
It is rare for Trump to permanently dismiss members of his political inner circle — fired aides often return to his good graces later. But the statement rebuking Bossie was “an extremely unusual step,” the source close to the campaign said.
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