Liz Cheney on Trump RNC takeover: ‘Donors better beware’

Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) took a swipe at former President Trump’s overhaul of the Republican National Committee (RNC), warning donors should “beware” after the former president’s legal team said it was “impossible” to secure a bond for the damages owed in his New York civil fraud case. 

“It is just a coincidence that Donald Trump took over the RNC, fired most of its Republican staff, and installed his daughter-law as co-chair at the same time he’s become desperate for money and can’t post bond?” Cheney wrote Monday on X, formerly Twitter. “Donors better beware.” 

Trump’s circle of allies began a massive overhaul of the RNC last week, starting with the election of Chair Michael Whatley and co-Chair Lara Trump, both of whom were endorsed by the former president. Trump is Lara’s father-in-law. 

A series of senior staffing changes involving former Trump’s allies followed, with a letter to RNC members calling the freshly merged Trump campaign and party a “united operation.” 

Days later, Trump’s legal team indicated in court filings it will be impossible to secure the $454 million bond due in his New York fraud case. Trump’s attorneys said they spent “countless hours” negotiating with “one of the largest insurance companies in the world” and approached 30 companies to back the bond. 

A judge ordered Trump to pay about $355 million — plus interest — in damages last month, after concluding he conspired to lie about his net worth for tax and insurance benefits. Nearly $112,000 in interest is tacked on each day he doesn’t pay, and the total judgment is now more than $454 million. 

The former president also faces other mounting legal fees, including his $91 million order in a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll and costs for four other criminal cases.

Federal election filings released earlier this year revealed his fundraising committees spent nearly $30 million in legal fees during the second half of 2023, while Trump’s Save America leadership PAC spent about $3 million in legal consulting fees in January. 

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Cheney’s Monday post is the latest in a string of back-and-forths with the former president. Earlier this week, Trump called for Cheney and the rest of the members of the now-disbanded House Jan. 6 select committee to be prosecuted over allegedly withholding evidence and testimony.

His calls began over the weekend in the wake of a new report from House Republicans that attempted to discredit Congress’s initial investigation of the Capitol insurrection and exonerate Trump ahead of the 2024 general election. 

Cheney, one of the most outspoken GOP critics of the former president, fired back at Trump’s remarks, arguing Trump and his legal team have “long had the evidence” included in last week’s House report. 

Trump faces four felony counts over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including his alleged actions surrounding the Jan. 6 riots. The trial for that case has been delayed while the Supreme Court weighs if the former president’s actions on Jan. 6 are protected from prosecution by presidential immunity. 

Trump’s campaign and the RNC did not immediately respond to request for comment.