August 3, 2016

Not All the Koch Brothers Have Sworn Off Donald Trump

Bill Koch is hosting a fundraiser for the embattled GOP nominee this weekend.

Evan Vucci/AP

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Charles and David Koch have declared they will have nothing to do with Donald Trump’s election—a major blow considering the financial and organizational resources their political network can mobilize. But not all of the four Koch brothers have sworn off Trump. David’s fraternal twin, Bill, who famously spent nearly two decades in a scorched-earth legal battle with his brothers, will be hosting a fundraiser for Trump at his Cape Cod mansion this weekend.

According to an invitation obtained by Mother Jones, Bill Koch and his wife, Bridget—who held fundraisers for Mitt Romney during the 2012 campaign—will host the Trump event at their home in Oyster Harbors, Massachusetts, at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Admission to the fundraiser is just $2,700, the maximum donation to the Trump campaign, but pledging to raise more than that will get you special access. Koch and his wife are listed as co-chairs, which the invitation specifies requires a donation or pledge to raise $100,000. Two other couples—former Mitt Romney fundraiser Jerry Jordan and his wife, Darlene, and real estate developer Charles Talanian and his wife, Ann—are listed as co-chairs.

RNC chairman Reince Priebus—who is reportedly furious with Trump for refusing to endorse Paul Ryan in his upcoming primary—was expected to attend fundraisers for Trump in Massachusetts this weekend.

 

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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