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 "I have disavowed all Super PACs, requested the return of all
donations made to said PACs, and I am calling on all presidential
candidates to do the same," Trump said in a statement.
Super PACs are independent committees that can raise unlimited sums
of money from corporations, unions and individuals. They have become
major players in U.S. elections because they can spend massive sums
of money promoting candidates, although they are not allowed to work
formally with the campaigns.
Trump has complained repeatedly that Super PACs allow corporate
entities and lobbyists to have undue influence. On Friday, he said
because he is self-funding the bulk of his campaign to be the
Republican Party's nominee for the November 2016 presidential
election, he is not beholden to special interests.
 While Trump disavowed Super PACs, a prominent supporter of his
launched one this week. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said
Wednesday he was putting $150 million toward a new group to raise
money to fight corporate "inversions" by pushing for legislation to
change the tax code.
The Make America Great Again PAC said it would shut down after the
Washington Post reported that one of its employees, Mike Ciletti,
contacted a Trump employee to obtain information for potential
donors. That would violate rules preventing coordination between
campaigns and Super PACs.
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Trump's campaign also asked all of the super PACs claiming to
support the real estate mogul stop raising money and return funds to
donors. The letters, sent on Wednesday, say the PACs do not have
authorization to use Trump's likeness, according to his campaign.
Republican operatives close to Trump believe he will be hit with
attack ads in the coming months, and they think calling on rivals to
drop their Super PACs could pre-empt those attacks, a person close
to Trump said.
Katie Packer, a Republican consultant who is critical of Trump,
disagreed. The money funding Super PACs is "totally legal, disclosed
dollars," she said.
(Reporting by Erin McPike; Editing by Emily Stephenson and Dan
Grebler)
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