Now pay up

A CBS News investigation has uncovered a possible pay-for-play scheme involving the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to the Bahamas. Emails obtained by CBS News show the nominee, San Diego billionaire Doug Manchester, was asked by the RNC to donate half a million dollars as his confirmation in the Senate hung in the balance, chief investigative correspondent Jim Axelrod reports.

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A Trump supporter, Manchester donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. He was offered the Bahamas post the day after Mr. Trump was sworn in.

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Then, for two and a half years, Manchester's nomination stalled in the Senate.

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[When Hurricane Dorian ravaged the Bahamas,] Trump tweeted, "I would also like to thank 'Papa' Doug Manchester, hopefully the next Ambassador to the Bahamas, for the incredible amount of time, money and passion he has spent on helping to bring safety to the Bahamas."

Three days after the tweet, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel hit up Manchester for a donation. It was no small sum. In an email, obtained exclusively by CBS News, she asked Manchester, "Would you consider putting together $500,000 worth of contributions from your family to ensure we hit our ambitious fundraising goal?"

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The Senate confirmation process is exactly what Manchester quickly addressed. He wrote back to McDaniel's request for $500,000, "As you know I am not supposed to do any, but my wife is sending a contribution for $100,000. Assuming I get voted out of the [Foreign Relations Committee] on Wednesday to the floor we need you to have the majority leader bring it to a majority vote … Once confirmed, I our [sic] family will respond!"

  CBS

So two can play that game. A little quid pro quo, which is Latin for extortion.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee told us, "The Chairwoman did not suggest to Mr. Manchester in any way that it would more quickly advance his confirmation if members of his family made a political contribution."

The RNC said, "Mr. Manchester's decision to link future contributions to an official action was totally inappropriate." They say they have cut ties with Manchester and returned the money his family donated this year.

Probably wise.

Former Senator Bob Corker, who was the chair of the Senate's foreign relations committee before he retired in January, held up Manchester's nomination.

"We had concerns about judgment, about demeanor, about just the whole reason for taking the job," Corker said.

He found McDaniel's fundraising pitch problematic. "The timing of that request obviously was not appropriate," he said.

Even worse, he said, was Manchester's response. His big mistake was copying staffers of two senators who controlled his nomination, Kentucky's Rand Paul and Idaho's Jim Risch, alerting them to his willingness to donate more after confirmation.

A little incentive to push his nomination through.

Risch alerted the White House, which then asked Manchester to withdraw.

The White House did not immediately respond for comment.

Manchester officially pulled out in October, citing personal reasons.

Sad.

Does he still wear his MAGA hat?