Committee to Defend the President
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| Committee to Defend the President | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. metro area |
| Type: | Hybrid PAC |
| Top official: | Ted Harvey |
| Year founded: | 2013 |
| Website: | Official website |
Committee to Defend the President is a hybrid PAC focused on supporting President Donald Trump (R) and his administration's agenda. The organization, originally known as the Stop Hillary PAC, was founded in 2013.[1]
In the 2020 presidential election, the PAC partnered with Great America PAC on a voter drive effort in battleground states Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. As of September 2020, the Committee to Defend the President had spent $7.5 million to support Trump's re-election campaign.[1]
Mission
As of September 2020, the Committee to Defend the President's website featured the following mission:[1]
| “ |
Our mission is simple. President Donald Trump has a mandate from the American people to defeat the liberal agenda and Keep America Great, but the radical progressive Democrats are opposed to President Trump’s America first agenda. So the Committee to Defend the President was formed to defend him from the radical left’s wild attacks. Join our grassroots movement behind President Donald Trump, and help us defend him from the radical left as he sets about undoing the progressive policies and regulations that are destroying our nation.[2] |
” |
Background
The Committee to Defend the President, originally known as the Stop Hillary PAC, was established in 2013 to oppose Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and support the congressional investigation into the 2012 Benghazi attack.[1]
The FEC paperwork was filed by Dan Backer, who also acted as the PAC's counsel.[3][4] According to The Washington Post, Backer previously served as a treasurer to a now-defunct political committee associated with Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who led the congressional committee investigating Benghazi. Backer was also the treasurer to Conservative Action Fund, the Special Operations Speaks PAC and the Tea Party Leadership Fund.[5]
Political activity
2020 presidential election
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Committee to Defend the President partnered with Great America PAC on a voter drive effort in battleground states Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. It pledged to contribute more than $1 million to register new Trump voters.[1]
As of September 2020, the Committee to Defend the President had spent $7.5 million to support Trump's re-election campaign. According to the organization's website, it highlighted pro-Trump messaging through a combination of television, digital, and telemarketing channels.[1]
Post-2016 election activity
On December 2, 2016, The Hill reported that Great America PAC and the Stop Hillary PAC were filing to block the proposed 2016 presidential election recount in Wisconsin, which had been initiated by Green Party nominee Jill Stein. The super PACs said that the recount "violates the due process rights of Donald Trump voters in the state." The recount had also been proposed in Michigan and Pennsylvania.[6] Trump's lawyers also filed to block the recount as well as Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.[6]
Benghazi investigation
The PAC was initially focused on Clinton and her relation to the Benghazi attacks. In January 2014, Stop Hillary filed a complaint with the FEC, arguing that the super PAC Ready for Hillary (now Ready PAC) had violated election laws when the pro-Clinton committee used Clinton's 2008 campaign email list.[3] In September 2014, the PAC launched an ad campaign attacking Clinton, which aired at the same time as the U.S. House committee began its investigation into Benghazi attacks. The ads aired in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina. The ad asked that viewers sign a subpoena demanding that Clinton testify before the committee.
Leadership
The following is a list of the Committee to Defend the President's leadership as of September 2020:[1]
- Ted Harvey, chairman
- Chad Banghart, executive director
Finances
The PAC raised $1,262,142 in 2015 and spent $1,010,067 in expenditures in 2015. The majority of the expenditures were used in opposing Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential bid through ads.[7] The following is a breakdown of Committee to Defend the President's contributions and expenditures based on the PAC's FEC filings.
| Annual contributions and expenditures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing Year | Contributions | Expenditures | |
| 2015[7] | $1,262,142 | $1,010,067 | |
| 2014[8] | $795,520 | $828,727 | |
| 2013[9] | $295,034 | $235,955 | |
Noteworthy events
The Washington Post investigation
In October 2015, The Washington Post made inquiries into the relationship between Backer, Gowdy, and the Benghazi hearings after Stop Hillary made three donations to Gowdy's campaign. Gowdy returned the money and stated that "[t]here are certain things in our culture that have to transcend politics, and I don’t mean to sound naive, but the murder of four fellow Americans and an attack on a facility that is emblematic of our country should transcend politics."[5]
In response to Gowdy's comments, Backer said in an interview that "he was not inclined to heed Gowdy’s concerns about politicizing the Benghazi attacks."[5] At the same time, Stop Hillary released an ad showing the faces of the Americans who had died in Benghazi with a voiceover asking "Dear Hillary Clinton, I’d like to ask you why you ignored calls for help in Benghazi and then four Americans were murdered."[10] The ad aired during the Democratic presidential debate on October 13, 2015.[10]
Media
The following videos are samples of media produced by the Committee to Defend the President:
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Committee to Defend the President'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Hillary Clinton
- Terrorist attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi, 2012
- Ted Harvey
- Trey Gowdy
- Ready for Hillary
- CNN Democratic debate (October 13, 2015)
External links
- Committee to Defend the President
- Committee to Defend the President on Facebook
- Committee to Defend the President on Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Committee to Defend the President, "About," accessed September 22, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 CNN, "Stop Hillary PAC asks for investigation into pro-Hillary group," January 22, 2014
- ↑ FEC, "Statement of Organization, Stop Hillary PAC," accessed February 9, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Washington Post, "Gowdy’s pleas to keep Benghazi probe above politics have gone unheeded," October 19, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Hill, "Trump super PACs file federal lawsuit to block WI recount," December 2, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 FEC, "FEC Form 3X, Stop Hillary PAC (Year End, 2015)," accessed February 9, 2016
- ↑ FEC, "FEC Form 3X, Stop Hillary PAC (Year End, 2014)," accessed February 9, 2016
- ↑ FEC, "FEC Form 3X, Stop Hillary PAC (Year End, 2013)," accessed February 9, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 National Review, "Stop Hillary Pac’s Debate Ad: ‘I’d Like To Ask...’," October 14, 2015
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