WASHINGTON: Republicans are asking donors for at least US$60 million to fund legal challenges brought by President Donald Trump over the US presidential election's results, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday (Nov 6).
The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in several states following Tuesday's election pitting the president against Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
“They want US$60 million,” said a Republican donor who received solicitations from the campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC).
The two sources spoke to Reuters about the requests for money on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. The Trump campaign and the RNC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Since voting ended on Tuesday, the Trump campaign has sent out email and text solicitations alleging foul play and seeking donations.
Live updates: Biden on brink of victory in cliffhanger US presidential race
The call for funds comes as the Trump and Biden campaigns gird for a potentially protracted legal fight over the election.
Trump campaign senior adviser David Bossie, who leads conservative advocacy group Citizens United, has been chosen to lead the post-election legal challenges, according to a source familiar with Trump's campaign strategy.
A Trump adviser described the campaign's litigation strategy thus far as chaotic, disorganised and a "disservice to the president."
The adviser, who also asked for anonymity, said the Trump team appeared to have been caught off guard by the election results and had not been prepared to mount a legal fight.
The campaign has lost court rulings in closely contested states, including Georgia, but scored a legal win in Pennsylvania on Friday, when a court ordered election officials to set aside provisional ballots cast on Election Day by voters whose absentee or mail-in ballots were received on time.
READ: Trump faces tough road in getting Supreme Court to intervene
READ: Biden builds leads in Pennsylvania and Georgia, moving closer to White House
Biden inched closer to a potential victory on Friday as he took narrow leads over Trump in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia three days after polls closed.
Trump, who started the race with a strong financial advantage, ended his campaign struggling to keep up with the Biden fundraising juggernaut.
Biden raised about US$130 million during the Oct 1 to Oct 14 period, about three times the roughly US$44 million raised by Trump's campaign, according to the candidates’ most recent disclosures with the Federal Election Commission.
The Biden campaign on Wednesday launched a new “Biden Fight Fund" to help raise money for the legal battle, according to emails reviewed by Reuters.
A Biden campaign spokesman did not immediately comment on whether they had set a fundraising target.
“The president threatened to go to court to prevent the proper tabulation of votes,” said Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon in an email, adding that the battle could stretch on for weeks.
The Republican official said that it was time for the president to "move on."
“This race is over, and the only person who doesn’t see it is Donald Trump,” the official said.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC91cy1lbGVjdGlvbi1yZXB1YmxpY2Fucy1yYWlzZS02MC1taWxsaW9uLWxlZ2FsLWNoYWxsZW5nZXMtMTM0ODQ2NTLSAQA?oc=5
2020-11-06 23:15:00Z
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