The main super PAC backing Donald Trump is shutting down amidst increasing scrutiny of its ties to Trump’s campaign.
Trump, who has made his independence from wealthy donors a cornerstone of his anti-establishment presidential campaign, never officially blessed the Make America Great super PAC.

But Mike Ciletti, a Republican operative based in Colorado, reportedly used contact information obtained from a top Trump aide to reach out to prospective donors.

Ciletti told POLITICO that his decision Thursday to shut down the organization, which he launched in July in an effort to boost Trump’s candidacy, is an attempt “to erase any questions as to whether he has a super PAC.”

“Mr. Trump has said he doesn’t have a super PAC,” Ciletti continued. “So to honor his wishes, I’m shutting my organization down.”

Ciletti declined to say how much money he was able to raise in roughly four months or whether anyone specifically asked him to shut the organization down. He plans to refund contributions after making sure existing contractual obligations to various vendors (mostly related to voter targeting and advertising) are met.

Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, has insisted that Trump has never blessed or worked with a super PAC, although recent FEC filings revealed that the campaign directed hard dollars to two Colorado-based companies both affiliated with Ciletti.

The campaign paid $33,000 to DC Connect, an Aurora-based company Ciletti founded, for telemarketing from May through July; and it paid $56,000 to WizBang Solutions, a Commerce City-based printing company where Ciletti is the director—both payments first reported by the Washington Post.

"This suggestion that we're doing something wrong is a double-standard," Ciletti said. "I know there’s a common vendor clause, but Jeb Bush has a common fundraiser," he said, referring to the fact that both Bush's campaign and his separate Right to Rise super PAC have made payments to an LLC registered to the address of Bush's campaign fundraiser.