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- Michael Cohen addressed rumors that Trump, his former boss, will launch a new presidential bid.
- He predicted Trump will not, as it would limit Trump’s ability to spend money he has fundraised.
- Cohen was once Trump’s right-hand-man, but is now one of his bitterest critics.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s ex-personal attorney, said he believes the former president is unlikely to launch another White House bid in 2024 as it would impact his ability to spend the millions he raised in political funds in the way he wants to.
Speaking on MSNBC on Sunday, Cohen discussed rumors that Trump is gearing up for a 2024 presidential bid, and cast doubt on them.
“It would destroy the great grift. If he runs, all the money would then have to go into a campaign fund. People would have to start expressing who they are, and it becomes listed,” Cohen told MSNBC’s Ali Velshi.
“They don’t want that anymore than he wants that.”
—Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) October 16, 2022
Cohen said Trump had far greater discretion over how he spends money raised through his PACs than he would if they were campaign funds.
“It’s a slush fund,” he said. “He can buy himself a new airplane, or he can use the money to fix his old airplane right now.”
Under Federal Election Commission rules, Trump’s power to spend money raised through a PAC is pretty much unlimited.
But he is barred from spending the funds on his presidential campaign if he does announce a candidacy.
He also can’t spend the money he has already raised on non-political uses.
These rules together mean he likely would be more limited in spending his existing PAC money than he currently is.
Cohen worked for year’s as Trump’s fixer, but in 2018 he pleaded guilty of crimes including lying to Congress and campaign finance violations he claims he committed at Trump’s behest.
He has since turned into one the former president’s most adamant critics, repeatedly claiming that Trump is a conman.
Trump in response has claimed Cohen is a liar. Insider has contacted his representatives for comment.
Trump has raised around $387 million through his multiple fundraising ventures since leaving office, including his Save America PAC, since leaving office.
These have mostly taken the form of small donations raised on the basis of issues such as his bogus claim the 2020 election was stolen from him, and the August FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.
Bloomberg found Trump had donated a relatively small amount of money to the more than 200 Republican candidates he’s endorsed ahead of the November midterms.
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