CBS News
Trump invitation to big donors prioritizes his legal bills over RNC
Former President Donald Trump’s new joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee is directing donations to his campaign and a political action committee that has been paying Trump’s legal bills before the RNC receives a cut, according to a fundraising invitation obtained by The Associated Press.
The unorthodox diversion of funds to the Save America PAC makes it more likely that Republican donors could see their money go to Trump’s lawyers, who have received at least $76 million over the last two years to defend him against four felony indictments and multiple civil cases. Some Republicans are already troubled that Trump’s takeover of the RNC could shortchange the cash-strapped party.
Trump has invited high-dollar donors to Palm Beach, Florida, for an April 6 fundraiser that comes as his fundraising trails that of President Joe Biden and national Democrats. The invitation’s fine print says donations to the Trump 47 Committee will first be used to give the maximum amount allowed under federal law to Trump’s campaign. Anything left over from the donation next goes toward a maximum contribution to Save America, and then anything left from there goes to the RNC and then to state political parties.
Before the RNC and state political parties would see a cut of large donations, $6,600 would go to the Trump campaign, and $5,000 would go to the Save America PAC — which has been footing his legal bills.
Adav Noti, the executive director of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington, said that is a break from fundraising norms. Usually, Noti said, candidates prioritize raising cash that can be spent directly on campaign activity. Save America, on the other hand, is structured as a “leadership PAC” and thus barred from spending directly on Trump’s own campaign activities. Legal spending made up 85% of Save America’s total operating expenses during the first two months of this year, roughly the same as 2023, when such expenses were about 89%. It has spent $8.5 million on legal fees so far this year.
“The reason most candidates don’t do this is because the hardest money to raise is money that can be spent directly on the campaign,” said Noti, a former staff attorney for the Federal Election Commission. “No other candidate has used a leadership PAC the way the Trump campaign has.”
The Trump campaign noted that Save America spends on expenses other than legal fees and that donors to the April fundraiser who contribute the suggested $814,600 per person or $250,000 per person will only have $5,000 of their donation go to Save America, sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to the RNC.
“Save America also covers a very active and robust post-Presidency office and other various expenses not related to fighting the illegal witch-hunts perpetrated by Crooked Joe Biden. The Trump campaign, the RNC, and state GOP parties ultimately receive the overwhelming majority of funds raised through the Trump 47 Committee. Out of an Individual donor’s maximum contribution of $824,600, less than 1% (.006%) goes to Save America,” Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign communications director, said in a statement.
A separate contribution form for the Trump 47 Committee allows donors to give smaller contributions or a contribution of any size but still spells out in the fine print that the donation is first to be allocated to the Trump campaign and Save America.
Trump’s handpicked leadership team for the RNC includes his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who is the committee’s co-chair, and Chris LaCivita, who serves effectively as one of two campaign managers for the Trump campaign and is now also taking on a chief of staff role at the RNC.
Lara Trump in February said she thought Republican voters would like to see the RNC pay Trump’s legal fees.
But shortly before the leadership change was voted in at the RNC, LaCivita told the AP in an interview that “not a penny of the RNC’s money or, for that matter, the campaign’s money has gone or will go to pay legal fees,” he said.
Before Trump was a candidate, the RNC was paying some of his legal bills for cases in New York that began when he was president, The Washington Post reported. Former Chair Ronna McDaniel, who was ousted this month, said in 2022 that the RNC would stop paying once Trump became a candidate.
The new arrangement doesn’t direct RNC funds to lawyers, but it ensures that when checks are written to the new combined Republican campaign, Trump’s campaign and Save America get paid first.
According to the fine print, any donor who wishes can direct their contribution to be distributed differently. Donors could also bypass the fundraising arrangement and give directly to the RNC or any other entity.
Save America PAC spent over $5.5 million in February alone on Trump’s legal bills, and so far this year, it has spent more than $8.5 million. The group carried about another $500,000 of debt owed to attorneys for Trump into March. Trump’s campaign also spent over $1.7 million on legal fees in the first two months of the year.
Trump’s political operation is struggling to catch up to Biden on fundraising and organization. His main campaign account and the Save America PAC reported raising a combined $15.9 million in February and ended the month with more than $37 million on hand, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday night.
The two committees are key parts of Trump’s fundraising operation but only a portion of the picture. The rest of his fundraising apparatus is scheduled to report updated numbers in April, along with the new Trump 47 Committee formed with the Republican National Committee.
“Trump is in dire need of money to pay his legal fees and he’s draining his PAC and he’s spending huge amounts of money out of his campaign committee,” said Brett Kappel, a longtime campaign finance attorney who has represented both Republicans and Democrats.
Biden’s campaign, meanwhile, said his political operation raised $53 million last month and ended February with $155 million on hand. That includes Biden’s joint fundraising with the Democratic National Committee. The full picture will not be available until April when some of the committees in his political operation are due to file reports.
His main campaign account raised $21 million in February, according to its latest filing with the FEC, and ended the month with $71 million on hand.
As the party’s presumptive nominee, Trump effectively controls the RNC and his political operation can now take advantage of the far higher contribution limits that apply to party committees. While candidates can accept a maximum donation of $3,300, under the joint fundraising agreement, a single donor could sign a check for just over $800,000, while a couple could contribute $1.6 million.
The April 6 fundraiser slated to benefit the Trump 47 Committee lists billionaire investor John Paulson as a host and co-chairs include Robert Bigelow, a Las Vegas-based businessman who had supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign; New York grocery billionaire John Catsimatidis; Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment executive and head of the Small Business Administration while Trump was president; casino mogul Steve Wynn; and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
Guests are asked to contribute $814,600 per person as a “chairman” contributor, which comes with seating at Trump’s table, or $250,000 per person as a “host committee’ contributor. Both options come with a photo opportunity and a personalized copy of Trump’s coffee table book featuring photographs from his administration, “Our Journey Together.”
Three of Trump’s former rivals for the GOP nomination — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — are all slated to appear as “special guests.”
Jake Rosen contributed to this report.
CBS News
Monastery in Thailand under investigation after authorities find 41 bodies allegedly used for meditation
A Buddhist monastery in Thailand is under investigation after authorities discovered more than 40 bodies on site which were allegedly used for meditation practices, police said Sunday.
Forty-one cadavers were found at Pa Nakhon Chaibovorn monastery in Thailand’s Phichit province on Saturday, a senior police officer told AFP.
“The bodies were accompanied with death and body donation certificates,” he said, adding that so far no charges have been filed.
He said police were reaching out to relatives of the deceased to confirm that the bodies were donated willingly.
“We are trying to make sure that none of the dead bodies were stolen,” said the officer who requested anonymity.
The search came days after police discovered 12 bodies at another monastery in neighboring Kamphaeng Phet province on Wednesday, according to Thai local media.
The head of the Phichit province monastery, Phra Ajarn Saifon Phandito, told Thai PBS television channel that the use of corpses was part of a “meditation technique” he developed.
“Many of the people who come to learn are abbots and all these monks… pass on the knowledge,” he said. “I don’t know how many have adopted my technique.”
He also told another local TV station that “practitioners meditate in pavilions that hold coffins with the human remains.”
Kom Pattarakulprasert, director of the Phichit Office of Buddhism, told the Bangkok Post that the inclusion of bodies in meditation was unusual.
“I asked Phra Ajarn Saifon Phandito if there were any cadavers and was told that there were none,” Kom told the outlet. “But when journalists discovered the 41 bodies, I was taken aback by the conflicting stories. I will discuss whether this practice is appropriate with the local head of the clergy.”
Phichit police said they are working with authorities in other provinces to investigate how widespread this practice is.
Charlotte, N.C. — Service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport have gone on strike during a busy week of Thanksgiving travel to protest what they say are unlivable wages.
Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage in North Carolina, which a spokesperson said began Monday morning.
Officials with Service Employees International Union announced the impending strike in a statement early Monday, saying the workers would demand “an end to poverty wages and respect on the job during the holiday travel season.”
Erik Verduzco / AP
ABM and Prospect Airport Services contract with American Airlines to provide services including cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs.
Workers say they previously raised the alarm about their growing inability to afford basic necessities, including food and housing. They described living paycheck to paycheck, unable to cover expenses like car repairs while performing jobs that keep countless planes running on schedule.
“We’re on strike today because this is our last resort. We can’t keep living like this,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said in a statement. “We’re taking action because our families can’t survive.”
Several hundred workers were expected to walk off the job and continue the work stoppage throughout Monday.
Most of them earn between $12.50 and $19 an hour, which is well below the living wage for a single person with no children in the Charlotte area, union officials said.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials have said this holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers departing the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving.
In addition to walking off the job, striking workers plan to hold an 11 a.m. rally and a 1 p.m. “‘Strikesgiving’ lunch” in place of the Thanksgiving meal that many of the workers won’t be able to afford later this week, union officials said.
“Airport service workers make holiday travel possible by keeping airports safe, clean, and running,” the union said. “Despite their critical role in the profits that major corporations enjoy, many airport service workers must work two to three jobs to make ends meet.”
ABM said it would take steps to minimize disruptions from any demonstrations.
“At ABM, we appreciate the hard work our team members put in every day to support our clients and help keep spaces clean and people healthy,” the company said in a statement last week.
Prospect Airport Services said last week that the company recognizes the seriousness of the potential for a strike during the busy holiday travel season.
CBS News
DHL cargo plane crashes near airport in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius amid concern over alleged Russian sabotage
Vilnius, Lithuania — A DHL cargo plane crashed early Monday near the airport in Lithuania’s capital, killing one person, authorities said as they searched for clues to what caused the tragedy. Lithuanian officials, who in the past weeks have been investigating incendiary devices allegedly sent on Western-bound cargo planes, stopped short of linking the crash with that investigation.
“It is premature to associate it with anything or to make any attributions,” State Security Department chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters.
Images from the crash site in the capital Vilnius showed debris from the plane and packages on fire scattered across the residential area, which had been cordoned off by the emergency services.
Lithuania Fire and Rescue Service/Anadolu/Getty
“We cannot rule out the case of terrorism. We have warned that such things are possible, we see an increasingly aggressive Russia… but we cannot make any attributions or point fingers yet,” Jauniskis said.
U.S. and European law enforcement agencies have been working together for weeks to investigate whether incendiary devices that detonated in July at DHL logistics hubs in Germany and Britain were part of a larger operation directed by Russian military intelligence agencies, the highest level of the Russian government, or by outside individuals acting in the interests of Russia, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News in early November.
According to the Lithuanian police, the plane, flying from the eastern German city of Leipzig, skidded several hundred yards before hitting the residential house that was set on fire, along with smaller buildings and a car.
Renatas Pozela, head of the firefighting and rescue department, said one person from the plane’s four-member crew died in the crash that happened as the plane came in to land in Vilnius.
Andrius Sytas/REUTERS
Head of National Crisis Management Centre Vilmantas Vitkauskas said the residential building was successfully evacuated, with its 12 residents moved to safety.
German logistics company DHL said the cargo aircraft was operated by its partner SwiftAir and had made an “emergency landing” in Lithuania.
“We can confirm that today, at approximately 4:30 am CET, a Swiftair aircraft, operated by a service partner on behalf of DHL, performed an emergency landing about one kilometer [about half a mile] from VNO Airport [Vilnius, Lithuania] while en route from LEJ Airport [Leipzig, Germany] to VNO Airport,” it said in a statement.
Lithuanian police Chief Arunas Paulauskas said investigators had gone to the hospital to talk to the pilots.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.
Earlier this month Lithuania said it had carried out arrests as part of a criminal probe into the sending of incendiary devices on Western-bound planes.
Polish and Lithuanian media said the devices, including electric massagers implanted with a flammable substance, were sent from Lithuania to the U.K. in July and could be behind a lorry fire outside Warsaw.
U.K. anti-terrorism police said last month that they were investigating how a parcel burst into flames at a depot earlier this year, after a similar case in Germany that officials blamed on Russia. The Lithuanian president’s chief security advisor said this month that Moscow had been behind the incidents.
“We know who the source of these operations is. It is Russian military intelligence,” Kestutis Budrys told Ziniu radio. “We cannot let this go unanswered as it will only escalate into the new kinds of actions.”
Poland and Lithuania, both NATO members bordering Russia who have been major allies of Ukraine amid that country’s efforts to fend off Russia’s full-scale invasion, have frequently warned about Russian-inspired sabotage on EU soil.
The 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment published at the end of October said the U.S. continues to be concerned about threats to aviation and air cargo systems, including the “potential use of the air cargo supply chain to ship concealed dangerous and potentially deadly items.”
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said in a statement in October that it was continually adjusting its security posture as necessary and would “promptly share any and all relevant information with our industry partners, to include requirements and recommendations that help them reduce risk.”
“Over the past several months, as part of a multi-layered security approach, TSA worked with industry partners to put additional security measures for U.S. aircraft operators and foreign air carriers regarding certain cargo shipments bound for the United States, in line with the 2021 TSA Air Cargo Security Roadmap,” the TSA’s statement noted at the time.
