THE MOST IMPORTANT TAKEAWAY FROM 2016...:

4. The campaign spent nearly half of its spending on more fundraising

It's hard to imagine this was cost-effective, given the fact that the campaign has recently felt the need to cut back on ads.

"Under Mr. Parscale, more than $350 million -- almost half of the $800 million spent -- went to fund-raising operations, as no expense was spared in finding new donors online," the report said.

5. A lot of money is covering campaign-adjacent legal bills

Republicans, for instance, have been saddled with extra legal costs, more than $21 million since 2019, resulting from the many investigations into Mr. Trump and, eventually, his impeachment trial. The R.N.C. also paid a large legal bill of $666,667.66 to Reuters News & Media at the end of June. Both Reuters and the R.N.C. declined to discuss the payment. It was labeled "legal proceedings -- IP resolution," suggesting it was related to a potential litigation over intellectual property.

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