CNBC: Wealthy former Hillary Clinton donor Stephen Rosenberg is using secret shell company to back Trump

08.28.2019 / By Brian Schwartz
CNBC: Wealthy former Hillary Clinton donor Stephen Rosenberg is using secret shell company to back Trump

“The ‘PERMISSIBLE FUNDS’ memo entries indicates to the FEC that the committee understands the rules and that the contribution is permissible because the LLC contribution is attributed to an individual,” said Paul Seamus Ryan, a vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause. “An LLC with a single natural person member that does not elect to be taxed as a corporation is treated as an individual under campaign finance law — i.e., that LLC is permitted to contribute to candidates, party committees and JFC’s like Trump Victory, subject to the individual contribution limits,” he added.

Real estate investor Stephen Rosenberg once had an open checkbook for Democrats running for higher office, including Hillary Clinton.

That changed after Donald Trump was elected president. Since then, Rosenberg has created a shell company that so far is dedicated to only supporting Trump for his 2020 reelection campaign.

Rosenberg’s company, SR 2018 LLC, is listed as a six-figure donor to the Trump Victory committee, a joint fundraising operation that divvies up funds between the campaign and the Republican National Committee. The company’s name consists of Rosenberg’s initials, while the mailing address of the LLC is identical to that of his real estate investment firm, Greystone, which is located in the Carnegie Hall Tower in New York. …

The $360,600 donation to Trump Victory came in May and, on another filing with Rosenberg’s name as the contributor, a memo cites SR 2018, describing the company’s contribution as “permissible funds.” The shell company has also given directly to Trump’s campaign with two separate max checks of $2,800, with one going toward the primary stage of the election cycle and the other for the later general election.

Ethics experts say the memo indicates that the Trump campaign likely attributed the LLC’s donation to Rosenberg because his company has no other employees and is likely not taxed as a corporation.

“The ‘PERMISSIBLE FUNDS’ memo entries indicates to the FEC that the committee understands the rules and that the contribution is permissible because the LLC contribution is attributed to an individual,” said Paul Seamus Ryan, a vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause.

“An LLC with a single natural person member that does not elect to be taxed as a corporation is treated as an individual under campaign finance law — i.e., that LLC is permitted to contribute to candidates, party committees and JFC’s like Trump Victory, subject to the individual contribution limits,” he added.

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