Donald Trump on Friday called on the remaining political action committees supporting his campaign to return money they've collected in his name, as he is self-funding his campaign and does not want to be controlled by outsiders.
"I am self-funding my campaign and therefore I will not be controlled by the donors, special interests and lobbyists who have corrupted our politics and politicians for far too long," Trump said in a statement, reports
Newsweek. "I have disavowed all super PACs, requested the return of all donations made to said PACs, and I am calling on all presidential candidates to do the same."
Candidates are not allowed, under election law, to coordinate activities and fundraising from super PACs once they officially declare their bids for public office.
Not to be outdone, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton on Friday also announced that she will not accept donations from PACs for private prison companies or federally registered lobbyists.
Her decision came after groups such as Black Lives Matter and immigration organizations pushed her to return the money, as more than half of detention beds for immigrants are located in private prisons.
But unlike Trump, Clinton said she will donate the direct contributions to charity, rather than order the PACs to return them, reports
Fusion, and it was not said which charities she will choose.
"Hillary Clinton has said we must end the era of mass incarceration, and as president, she will end private prisons and private immigrant detention centers," a campaign representative told Newsweek. "When we're dealing with a mass incarceration crisis, we don't need private industry incentives that may contribute — or have the appearance of contributing — to over-incarceration."
Earlier this week, the Make America Great super PAC, formed to back Donald Trump's GOP presidential campaign, announced it is shutting down, with the Republican operative who launched it saying he's pulling the plug to honor the front-runner's wishes.
Trump, a New York billionaire, has made refusing donations from other wealthy people a centerpiece of his campaign, and has never officially blessed Make America Great or any of the other groups that say they're raising money for him.
He did
attend a fundraiser the group held in New York in July, speaking for 10 to 15 minutes at a private residence in Manhattan, where about 200 people were in attendance.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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