Subject: RE: New Trump Super PAC - Committee for American Sovereignty
From: "Sarge, Matthew" <[email-masked]>
To: Comm_D <[email-masked]>
Cc: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2016 14:01:09 -0700

California allies roll out new pro-Trump super PAC with aim of raising $20 million by July<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/12/california-allies-roll-out-new-pro-trump-super-pac-with-aim-of-raising-20-million-by-july/?postshare=4191463086495719&tid=ss_tw>

A group of veteran Republican party leaders and wealthy allies of Donald Trump are launching a new super PAC to bolster his efforts to win the White House, aiming to raise $20 million before the national convention in July.
The new group, called the Committee for American Sovereignty, was started by a group of Trump supporters in California, including former state senator Tony Strickland, who will serve as the super PAC's chairman. GOP strategist Doug Watts, who most recently worked for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson's presidential bid, has signed on to be the national executive director.
Already, the organization has attracted a list of major donors and party fundraisers including venture capitalist Ken Abramowitz, investor Nick Loeb and California businessman Tim Yale. Other supporters include former California GOP chairman Shawn Steel, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly and retired Navy Admiral James A. Lyons, Jr.
Perhaps most significant is the participation of Nicholas Ribis Sr., the former chairman of Trump Hotel, Casino and Resorts, which will likely be read as a sign that Trump's circle has blessed the undertaking.
The roll-out of the group shows that Trump's new rhetoric about super PACs<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-turns-to-general-election--and-away-from-past-positions/2016/05/05/22fc6fa6-12d5-11e6-81b4-581a5c4c42df_story.html> has been interpreted as a change in his posture toward such group. Throughout the primaries, he bashed his rivals for relying on super PACs for support.
"There have been a lot of funders and supporters who have been ringing their hands and wanting to help in a super PAC fashion, and didn't feel they could because of Mr. Trump's comments about self-funding and rejection generally of super PACs," Watts said in an interview. "That opened up this last week."
Trump's allies were also spurred by a massive TV ad campaign that Priorities USA Action, a super PAC supporting Democratic contender Hillary Clinton, is set to launch in the coming weeks.
"The alarm bells certainly rang loudly when Priorities USA announced they were spending $90 million in just seven states," Watts said.
The Committee for American Sovereignty is the second significant attempt to roll out a pro-Trump super PAC. Another group, Great America PAC, recently signed on veteran GOP strategist Ed Rollins as a top adviser.
Watts said he sees his group's work as complementary to other endeavors.
"I'm glad they're in it," he said. "I hope others get in, because I think Mr. Trump is going to need a lot independent expenditure committee support for the campaign."
He said his group is going to be focused on raising substantial sums from major donors, with a pledge to spend 85 percent to 90 percent of donations on voter contact and outreach. One of the super PAC's major goals will be registering new voters and turning them out to the polls in November.
"If I learned nothing else in the Carson campaign, it's that there was a tremendous pool of people who have given up voting or not registered because they never thought it mattered," he said.
The Committee for American Sovereignty will also do television ads, Watts said, but in a targeted fashion. "We won't be part of the tonnage brigade," he said.

From: Sarge, Matthew
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 3:45 PM
To: Comm_D
Cc: [email-masked]
Subject: New Trump Super PAC - Committee for American Sovereignty

Newly Launched Super PAC Vows to Raise Millions for Donald Trump<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/newly-launched-super-pac-vows-raise-millions-donald/story?id=39074969>

As presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump<http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/donald-trump.htm> shifts his campaign to the general election, at least one super PAC is getting on board too.

A brand new pro-Trump super PAC launched today, touting its ability to take on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton through a major donor operation focused on funding voter registration programs, get-out-the-vote operations, and television and online media ad buys.

Representatives for the group, called the Committee for American Sovereignty, say they expect to raise $20 million between now and the GOP convention in July and upwards of $100 million throughout the course of the campaign.

Doug Watts, national executive director and spokesman for the group, who also served as a former adviser to Ben Carson<http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/us/ben-carson.htm>, told ABC News that the group's mission is to combat the "Clinton machine."

"With the recent announcement that a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC has already booked over $90 million in ad time in just seven states in June, it is clear we need to ramp up major donor fundraising efforts, unify Republicans, and take on the Clinton machine. We have already begun to raise significant funds in California and from supporters across the country," Watts said.

The advisory committee to the Committee for American Sovereignty includes military leaders, the former chairman of Trump Resorts International and political activists from across the country.