41-533: Save America (founded on November 9, 2020) is a leadership political action committee founded and controlled by president-elect Donald Trump . It has been Trump's primary fundraising and political spending arm since he left office. The PAC has spent more than $ 60 million on legal fees for the former president and his allies. Former US President Donald Trump founded and controls the Save America leadership political action committee (leadership PAC). Save America
82-884: A petty officer in the U.S. Navy , he was Trump's valet at the White House . After Trump's term ended, Nauta continued to work for him at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and residence. In June 2023, Trump and Nauta were indicted by a federal grand jury in a criminal case over violations of the Espionage Act and related offenses. Nauta was charged with six counts of federal crimes and pleaded not guilty . On July 27, two new counts of obstruction were brought against Nauta. The original six charges against Nauta relate to allegations that he, acting at Trump's direction, moved boxes that included illegally retained classified documents and national defense -related documents to Trump's residence, and then lied about it to federal investigators. He
123-576: A $ 60 million refund of a donation it had previously sent to Trump's MAGA Inc. Super PAC, which money had been intended for television commercials to help Trump's candidacy. It had spent $ 21.6 million on Trump-related legal fees in the first half of 2023, out of $ 25 million the PAC had spent overall in that time period. It was reported in September 2022 that a Washington, D.C., federal grand jury had issued subpoenas to several witnesses seeking information related to
164-542: A PAC according to the state's election laws . Contributions to PACs from corporate or labor union treasuries are illegal, though these entities may sponsor a PAC and provide financial support for its administration and fundraising. Union-affiliated PACs may solicit contributions only from union members. Independent PACs may solicit contributions from the general public and must pay their own costs from those funds. Federal multi-candidate PACs may contribute to candidates as follows: In its 2010 case Citizens United v. FEC ,
205-535: A PAC such as Save America cannot spend money directly on the candidate's campaign, and conversely his campaign committee cannot directly pay for things that benefit the candidate personally, Save America can pay Trump's legal expenses, whereas his campaign cannot. In January 2023, Save America had $ 18 million of cash on hand. Through that date, the states from which it had raised the most money from residents were Virginia ($ 12 million), California ($ 8 million), and Texas ($ 7 million). In June 2023, Trump's valet Walt Nauta
246-522: A candidate or candidate committee. The political action committee emerged from the labor movement of 1943. The first PAC was the CIO-PAC , formed in July 1943 under CIO president Philip Murray and headed by Sidney Hillman . It was established after the U.S. Congress prohibited unions from giving direct contributions to political candidates. This restriction was initially imposed in 1907 on corporations through
287-601: A central committee maintained by said PAC. Furthermore, it required PACs to file regular reports with the Federal Election Commission(FEC) disclosing anyone who has donated at least $ 200. The Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional limits imposed on PACs by the legislature under First Amendment grounds in many cases, starting with Buckley v. Valeo . Throughout the past 30 years, campaign donations from PACs have been increasingly growing, with $ 333 million being raised in 1990 to $ 482 million in 2022. Even with
328-667: A complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that the transfer was inappropriate inasmuch as Trump was already a presidential candidate when he made the transfer. In November 2022, when Trump began his 2024 campaign for president, 99 cents out of every dollar that he raised online went to his campaign. One penny went to Save America. However, in February or March 2023 he adjusted that split, so that 90 cents of every dollar donated to him goes to his campaign, and 10% of donations go to Save America. Because generally
369-702: A document in a federal investigation , scheme to conceal , and making false statements and representations. At the time of the indictment , Nauta was with Trump at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster . According to the indictment, in the waning days of Trump's term in office, both Trump and Nauta packed items from the White House to ship to Mar-a-Lago in Florida . The indictment alleges that, between November 2021 and January 2022, Nauta, acting at Trump's direction, moved boxes that included illegally retained classified documents and national defense -related documents from
410-580: A personal valet to the president. He was responsible for responding to the presidential call button , including when the president requested Diet Cokes , which Nauta would bring to Trump on a silver platter. Nauta was promoted to senior chief petty officer in September 2020. When Trump's term of office ended in January 2021, Nauta accompanied him to Mar-a-Lago , where he worked as Trump's butler and body man . He frequently traveled with Trump to public appearances and campaign events. By August 2021, Nauta
451-544: A storage room at Mar-a-Lago to Trump's residence. The indictment also alleges that, after a federal grand jury issued a subpoena in May 2022 requiring the return of the government documents, Nauta assisted Trump in concealing documents from the grand jury, the FBI , and Trump's own lawyers. It alleges that Trump and Nauta misled a lawyer working for Trump (referenced in the indictment as "Attorney 1," and identified as Evan Corcoran ) who
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#1732852392558492-469: A superseding indictment was filed with two new counts of obstruction against Nauta, bringing the total counts against Nauta to eight. Trump was arraigned on June 13 and pleaded not guilty to all 37 counts. The federal magistrate judge twice postponed Nauta's arraignment so Stanley Woodward —Nauta's Washington, D.C. lawyer, whose fees are paid by Trump's Save America political action committee —could find local counsel admitted to practice in
533-838: A way dominant parties can capture seats from other parties. A leadership PAC sponsored by an elected official cannot use funds to support that official's own campaign. However, it may fund travel, administrative expenses, consultants, polling, and other non-campaign expenses. In the 2018 election cycle, leadership PACs donated more than $ 67 million to federal candidates. Super PACs, officially known as "independent expenditure-only political action committees," are unlike traditional PACs in that they may raise unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations, unions, and other groups to spend on, for example, ads overtly advocating for or against political candidates. However, they are not allowed to either coordinate with or contribute directly to candidate campaigns or political parties. Super PACs are subject to
574-455: The 2018 election , the top ten PACs donated a total of $ 29,349,895 (directly, and via their affiliates and subsidiaries) to federal candidates: In the 2020 election , the top ten PACs donated a total of $ 28,276,448 (directly, and via their affiliates and subsidiaries) to federal candidates: In the 2022 election , the top ten PACs donated a total of $ 28,051,395 (directly, and via their affiliates and subsidiaries) to federal candidates: In
615-405: The 2024 election , the top ten PACs donated a total of $ 25,995,526 (directly, and via their affiliates and subsidiaries) to federal candidates: Walt Nauta Waltine Torre Nauta Jr. (born 1982 or 1983 ) is an American valet and body man to former U.S. president Donald Trump . He is a defendant in a criminal case over violations of the Espionage Act and related offenses. While
656-746: The Supreme Court of the United States overturned sections of the Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (also known as the McCain–Feingold Act) that had prohibited corporate and union political independent expenditures in political campaigns. Citizens United declared it was unconstitutional to prohibit corporations and unions from spending from their general treasuries to promote candidates or from contributing to PACs. It left intact these laws' prohibitions on corporations or unions contributing directly to
697-540: The Tillman Act . The Smith–Connally Act extended its coverage to labor unions in 1943. A series of campaign reform laws enacted during the 1970s facilitated the growth of PACs after these laws allowed corporations, trade associations, and labor unions to form PACs. In 1971 the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) created rules for disclosure, which made it so all donations received by PACs must go through
738-737: The U.S. Navy in July 2001. He was a cook, with the rating of culinary specialist . Among his Navy postings were stints with a strike fighter squadron in California, and at a submarine base in Georgia. In 2012, he was assigned to the Presidential Food Service , which is run by the U.S. Navy and manages the White House Mess as part of the White House Military Office . During the presidency of Donald Trump , Nauta became
779-840: The 4,600 active, registered PACs, named "connected PACs", sometimes also called "corporate PACs", are established by businesses, non-profits, labor unions, trade groups, or health organizations. These PACs receive and raise money from a "restricted class", generally consisting of managers and shareholders in the case of a corporation or members in the case of a non-profit organization, labor union or other interest group. As of January 2009, there were 1,598 registered corporate PACs, 272 related to labor unions and 995 to trade organizations. Groups with an ideological mission, single-issue groups, and members of Congress and other political leaders may form "non-connected PACs". These organizations may accept funds from any individual, connected PAC, or organization. As of January 2009, there were 1,594 non-connected PACs,
820-612: The Navy and became a personal employee of Trump. Nauta was called as a witness in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into Donald Trump's handling of government documents ; the investigation began in 2022. Investigators with the independent special counsel investigation led by Jack Smith came to doubt Nauta's account of his activities, and beginning in fall 2022 considered whether to charge him with crimes. Nauta declined to cooperate with prosecutors, and on May 24, 2023,
861-512: The PAC, often using false claims about the 2020 election and soliciting donations to rebuke the multiple investigations into the former president, his business dealings, and his actions on Jan. 6." Trump has used the PAC to pay for his post-presidential rallies, travel, staff expenses, $ 21.6 million in legal bills (including those of Trump confidants and aides called to testify before the January 6 attack US House committee ), and portraits of himself and
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#1732852392558902-640: The Southern District of Florida with whom to work, as required by court rules. (Woodward is not a member of the local court bar, and thus is appearing pro hac vice .) On June 13, Trump and Nauta were granted pre-trial release , on their own recognizance . As is common in criminal matters, the co-defendants were instructed that they were prohibited from discussing the case with each other, except through their lawyers. A similar restriction applied to their communications with witnesses. Trump and Nauta remained free to converse directly on topics unrelated to
943-545: The U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $ 1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (also known as the McCain–Feingold Act). At the state level, an organization becomes
984-493: The United States, a political action committee ( PAC ) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives , or legislation . The legal term PAC was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States . Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition (see political finance ). At
1025-419: The case scheduled for July 14. That week, Woodward was anticipated to be in another courthouse defending a different man (Federico Guillermo “Freddie” Klein) tied to Trump, who was on trial related to the U.S. Capitol storming; the government opposed the request. Nauta's trial is scheduled to follow that of Trump's, which prosecutors told the judge they would like to begin on December 11. On July 21, 2023,
1066-473: The case. Nauta continued to serve as a personal assistant to Trump. Nauta ultimately hired Sasha Dadan (a criminal defense lawyer and former public defender whose main office is in Fort Pierce, Florida , where the trial judge would be based) to co-counsel with Woodward. At his arraignment on July 6, Nauta pleaded not guilty. On July 10, Nauta requested an indefinite postponement of a pre-trial hearing in
1107-617: The fastest-growing category. Elected officials and political parties cannot give more than the federal limit directly to candidates. However, they can set up a leadership PAC that makes independent expenditures . Provided the expenditure is not coordinated with the other candidate, this type of spending is not limited. Under the FEC (Federal Election Commission) rules, leadership PACs are non-connected PACs, and can accept donations from individuals and other PACs. Since current officeholders have an easier time attracting contributions, Leadership PACs are
1148-492: The formation, fundraising activities, and receipts of monies and expenditures of Save America. Among those subpoenaed were junior and mid-level aides to Trump during and after his presidency, Nicholas Luna (former personal assistant to Trump), the chief financial officer for Trump's 2020 campaign, and the former chief of staff for Ivanka Trump . Dozens of subpoenas have been issued to companies that received money from Save America, including law firms. Leadership PAC In
1189-752: The former first lady that will one day hang in the Smithsonian 's National Portrait Gallery ($ 650,000). Save America has also donated $ 1 million to the Conservative Partnership Institute (which is linked to former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows ); $ 1 million to the America First Policy Institute (which was started and is partly run by former officials of Trump's administration); $ 200,000 to Trump Hotel properties; and $ 132,000 to former first lady Melania Trump ’s fashion stylist Hervé Pierre . In February 2022, Save America paid
1230-411: The legal fees charged by Stefan Passantino , a former Trump deputy White House counsel, to represent unemployed former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson , who had been served with a subpoena by the January 6 attack US House Committee. After she was deposed, Hutchinson received a call from a top aide to Mark Meadows saying: "Mark wants me to let you know that he knows you’re loyal, and he knows you’ll do
1271-423: The major growth, PAC contributions only made up 23% of the money raised by House candidates and only 10% for senate candidates, despite media coverage which tends to exaggerate contributions. Federal law formally allows for two types of PACs: connected and non-connected. Judicial decisions added a third classification, independent expenditure-only committees, which are colloquially known as "super PACs". Most of
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1312-576: The right thing tomorrow and that you’re going to protect him and the boss." Concerned that her testimony was being conveyed to Trump, and suspecting Passantino's legal team of leaking it to him, she terminated Passantino's representation of her. Hutchinson then hired attorney Jody Hunt , who agreed to represent her on a pro bono basis. As of June 2022, over 60% of contributions to Save America were from retirees. Spending by Save America increased in August 2022 to over $ 6.3 million, its highest monthly total of
1353-538: The room. According to the indictment, Nauta texted another Trump employee that he had found that several of Trump's boxes had fallen onto the floor, spilling their contents, and Nauta sent a photo to the other employee showing a document on the floor with visible classification markings. The indictment states that Nauta lied to FBI investigators in May 2022, by falsely claiming he was not aware of boxes being brought to Trump's residence for Trump's review. The charges are punishable by up to 90 years in prison. On July 27,
1394-529: The same organizational, reporting, and public disclosure requirements of traditional PACs. A hybrid PAC (sometimes called a Carey Committee) is similar to a super PAC, but can give limited amounts of money directly to campaigns and committees, while still making independent expenditures in unlimited amounts. OpenSecrets maintains a list of the largest PACs by election cycle on its website OpenSecrets.org. Their list can be filtered by receipts or different types of expenses, political party, and type of PAC. In
1435-470: The special counsel formally notified Nauta that he was a target of the investigation . On June 8, 2023, Nauta was co-indicted with Trump by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida , based in Miami. Nauta was indicted on six counts: conspiracy to obstruct justice , withholding a document or record , corruptly concealing a document or record, corruptly concealing
1476-407: The year to that point in time. That month Save America made a contribution of $ 150,000 to Wyoming Values, a super PAC working to defeat Republican US Representative Liz Cheney . The PAC began September 2022 with over $ 92 million in cash. In October 2022 the PAC transferred $ 20 million to Trump's new MAGA Inc. Super PAC. In November 2022, the campaign finance watchdog Campaign Legal Center filed
1517-472: Was indicted by a federal grand jury ; Save America is paying Nauta's legal bills. Nauta was charged with moving boxes at Trump's direction that included allegedly illegally retained classified documents and national defense -related documents to Trump's residence, and then lying about it to federal investigators. The charges are punishable by up to 90 years in prison, if Nauta is convicted. As of July 1, 2023, Save America had less than $ 4 million. It requested
1558-518: Was founded and registered with the Federal Election Commission on November 9, 2020, two days after the 2020 presidential election results were declared. Its treasurer is Bradley T. Crate, who had been Trump's campaign treasurer. It is located in Arlington, Virginia . Save America has been Trump's primary fundraising and political spending arm since he left office. ABC News wrote that Trump and his allies "have consistently pushed supporters to donate to
1599-557: Was indicted for conspiracy to obstruct justice , withholding a document or record , corruptly concealing a document or record, corruptly concealing a document in a federal investigation , scheme to conceal , and making false statements and representations. The charges are punishable by up to 90 years in prison if he is convicted. Nauta was born in Hågat , Guam , and grew up there with five siblings. He graduated from Southern High School in nearby Sånta Rita-Sumai . Nauta enlisted in
1640-475: Was on the payroll of Trump's political action committee , Save America . Nauta's service in the Navy ended in September 2021. He was also paid by Trump's 2024 presidential campaign beginning in November 2022. Nauta was accused of sexual harassment and revenge porn by several women in spring 2021, which led to him being reassigned and his security credentials being docked. This was several weeks before he left
1681-484: Was working on gathering documents to comply with the subpoena. According to the indictment, between May 23, 2022 (when Trump met with his attorneys) and June 2, 2022 (when Corcoran told Trump he planned to search a storage room in Mar-a-Lago for documents sought by the subpoena), Nauta was seen on surveillance video removing 64 boxes from a storage room and delivering them to Trump's residence, then returning only 30 boxes to