Trump sometimes makes requests higher than his team expects to receive, sometimes surprising his own advisers because he is asking for so much money. By frequently tying the fundraising requests within seconds of promises of tax cuts, oil project infrastructure approvals and other favorable policies and asking for sums more than his campaign and the GOP can legally accept from an individual, Trump is also testing the boundaries of federal campaign finance laws, according to legal experts.
In one recent meeting staged by his Save America super PAC, Trump asked oil industry executives to raise $1 billion for his campaign and said raising such a sum would be a “deal” given how much money they would save if he were reelected as president.
In recent meetings with donors, he has repeatedly suggested they should give millions of dollars without saying where it should go.
Larry Noble, a longtime campaign finance lawyer, said Trump was technically allowed to ask only for contributions of $3,300 or less for his campaign, according to federal laws. But he can appear at events for his super PAC where the price of admission is far higher — as long as he doesn’t ask for the money directly.
“He can’t say, ‘I want you to give me $1 million,’” Noble said.
And after a 2016 Supreme Court decision overturning a public-corruption conviction of former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell, it would require an explicit quid pro quo for a specific government action in direct exchange for a contribution to be viewed as illegal, Noble said….