[ad_1]
The PAC was the entity in which Trump had parked the more than $US100 million raised when he sought small-dollar donations after losing the 2020 election. Trump claimed he needed the support to fight widespread fraud in the race. Officials, including some with his campaign, turned up no evidence of widespread fraud.
Trump used some of that $US100 million for other politicians and political activities in 2022, but he also used it to pay more than $US16 million in legal fees, most of them related to investigations into him, and at least $US10 million of which was for his own personal fees.
Save America began 2023 with just $US18 million in cash on hand, which is less than half of what was spent on legal bills this year.
Campaign finance experts are divided on whether Trump is even able to continue to use the PAC to pay for his personal legal bills, as he became a candidate last November.
Trump has long told associates that lawyers and other people contracted to work for him should do so for free because they get free publicity. And he has told several associates that legal-defence funds are organised only by people who are guilty of crimes, according to people who have heard the remarks.
Earlier this year, Trump began diverting a larger percentage of every dollar he raised online away from his campaign and into his PAC, which he has used to pay for his lawyers. At the start of the 2024 campaign, Trump had devoted 99¢ of every dollar raised online to his campaign. But he shifted that formula to now give only 90¢ to the campaign and 10¢ to the PAC, which has served as a sort of de facto legal fund.
The move drew sharp criticism from some of his rivals. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called it “disgraceful” on CNN during an interview in June.
“He’s going to middle-class men and women in this country and they’re donating $US15, $US25, $US50, $US100 because they believe in Donald Trump and they want him to be president again,” Christie said. “They’re not giving that money so he can pay his personal legal fees.”
Yet that increased amount diverted from Trump’s campaign couldn’t possibly begin to cover the high costs of legal fees that the candidate and his associates have incurred. And whatever money the super PAC returned to the political action committee to cover legal bills in theory means less money being spent in support of Trump’s candidacy.
A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, Steven Cheung, would not comment on the refund request. But regarding the overall spending on lawyers, he said, “The weaponised Department of Justice has continued to go after innocent Americans because they worked for President Trump and they know they have no legitimate case.”
He characterised the legal actions against Trump and his allies as “heinous actions by Joe Biden’s cronies” and said the PAC had contributed to covering legal costs to “protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed”.
A spokesperson for the super PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Despite having his political action committee pay his legal fees, Trump, a wealthy businessman and celebrity, insisted on Saturday at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, that he would spend his own money on his campaign if he had to.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
[ad_2]
Source link