Former President Donald Trump's campaign is calling on 1 million supporters to donate to his presidential push to "stop the witch hunt" and save Trump Tower in light of Trump's impending deadline to secure a $454 million bond in his civil fraud case.
In a campaign message sent out on Wednesday, Trump's reelection team urged for donations to protect Trump Tower, the former president's prized Manhattan skyscraper, from being taken by "radical Democrat" New York Attorney General Letitia James.
If Trump is unable to secure his total bond amount, which stems from a lawsuit brought against him by James, state prosecutors could start enforcing the penalty by seizing some of the former president's assets on Monday.
"KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF TRUMP TOWER!" read the memo, which Reuters reported was sent out by a joint fundraising committee that allocates donations to Trump's 2024 campaign and a separate political committee that has been paying the former president's legal bills.
"Insane radical Democrat AG Letitia James wants to SEIZE my properties in New York. THIS INCLUDES THE ICONIC TRUMP TOWER!" the message continued.
The message also accused James of working on behalf of Democrats and President Joe Biden to "stifle" Trump's campaign. The former president has repeatedly claimed that the White House is behind his plethora of legal challenges amid his reelection bid. Biden has dismissed such allegations.
"So before the day is over, I'm calling on ONE MILLION Pro-Trump patriots to chip in and say: STOP THE WITCH HUNT AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP!" read the memo.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign via email for additional comment late Wednesday night.
Federal law prohibits candidates from using campaign money for personal use. However, Trump has been able to use donor money to pay some of his legal fees because he claims his defense is campaign-related. Filings with the Federal Election Commission last month showed that Trump's political action committees spent tens of millions of dollars on legal fees in the second half of last year.
Trump was ordered to pay nearly half a billion dollars in penalties after he was found liable of fraud by New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who ruled that the former president, his adult sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and other business associates of The Trump Organization inflated Trump's real estate assets and net worth to obtain better terms from lenders.
In order to appeal Engoron's ruling, Trump would need to post $464 million, due to interest. The former president maintains that he is innocent.
According to a court filing on Monday, Trump's defense team has asked over 30 companies to help cover his bond amount. All of those requests, however, have been denied.
"Despite scouring the market," the filing read, "we have been unsuccessful in our effort to obtain a bond for the Judgment Amount for Defendants for the simple reason that obtaining an appeal bond for $464 million is a practical impossibility under the circumstances presented."
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