Hours before Saturday night’s South Carolina Republican debate, the final faceoff before the state’s GOP primary contest, candidate Donald Trump accused the Republican National Committee of “illegally” using his name in a fundraising email sent to party supporters.



In a series of tweets and a press release on Saturday afternoon, the GOP front-runner accused the RNC of “deceptive Washington tricks” and said he never authorized the RNC to use his name in the fundraising pitch.



“The RNC, which is probably not on my side, just illegally put out a fundraising notice saying ‘Trump wants you to contribute to the RNC,’” his campaign said. “The RNC does not treat me well and then they use my name, without my knowledge, to raise money for themselves.” Trump said much the same in a tweet from his personal account.



The RNC, which is probably not on my side, just illegally put out a fundraising notice saying Trump wants you to contribute to the RNC. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2016