Donald Trump spent $10 million in donor funds last year to pay his legal fees, federal election filings show.
Trump funneled the money from his Save America PAC into the pockets of his attorneys, who are still working to fight multiple cases.
The 76-year-old is being defended by legal teams against allegations of tax fraud at the Trump Organization; an investigation into his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago; allegations of meddling in Georgia’s elections; and instigating the January 6th uprising.
One prominent name not on the New York Times list is Rudy Giuliani, who championed Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Trump told advisers he did not want to pay Giuliani unless he managed to overturn the election.
Donald Trump, seen Jan. 28, has used $10 million in donor funds to pay his legal fees, it was reported Tuesday
Chris Kise, a former Florida Attorney General, was paid $3 million to represent Trump in cases involving Mar-a-Lago documents and Trump Organization tax fraud allegations
Whether Trump can continue to use his PAC funds to pay his personal legal fees now that he’s a declared presidential candidate is a gray area, experts told the paper.
“Payments by a PAC that exceed the contribution limit are contributions to the candidate and are illegal,” said Jason Torchinsky, campaign finance expert and attorney with the law firm Holtzman Vogel.
The current limit for individual donations to candidates is $3,300 for the current two-year policy cycle.
The largest paycheck, $3 million, went to Florida-based law firm Critton, Luttier and Coleman.
The firm is affiliated with Christopher M. Kise, a former Florida Attorney General.
Kise was hired by Trump to work on the Mar-a-Lago documents case, but is now also working on the Trump Organization tax fraud case, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Another firm working on the Mar-a-Lago documents – Silverman Thompson Slutkin and White – received $1.3 million.
Evan Corcoran, another of Trump’s top lawyers, works at the firm.
Corcoran testified about the classified documents before a grand jury last month, and federal prosecutors are trying to bring him back to answer more questions. They have asked a judge to waive his right to answer questions on the basis of attorney-client privilege.
Evan Corcoran, whose company Silverman Thompson Slutkin and White received $1.3 million for work on the Mar-a-Lago documents
Jim Trusty, a former assistant district attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland, was hired by Trump after the former president saw him on TV
Michael van der Veen, pictured, represented Trump in his second impeachment trial in February 2021
Alina Habba, acting for Trump in the E. Jean Carroll case, who accuses him of raping her in a dressing room at a New York department store in the 1990s. Your company received $2 million
The PAC spent approximately $1.2 million in fees paid to Ifrah Law, Jim Trusty’s company.
Trump saw Trusty on TV and decided to hire him, the newspaper reported.
Habba represents Trump in several cases
Another $1.3 million went to Michael van der Veen’s law firm.
He represented Trump during his second impeachment trial and in a New York tax fraud case against the Trump Organization – losing on all 17 counts.
And around $2 million was paid to the firm Alina Habba, which is acting for Trump in the case of E. Jean Carroll, who accuses him of raping her in a dressing room at a New York department store in the 1990s.
Habba is also representing the former president in his case against the New York Times over its coverage of his tax returns; a defamation case in Pennsylvania; and in a case against Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and “fixer” who has now turned against him.
Most of Trump’s PAC funds were raised prior to his announcement in November that he would seek re-election in 2024.
At the end of last year, the PAC had just over $18 million in cash, its federal files show.
This comes as Trump and his companies battle multiple legal troubles and scandals.
Yesterday, the chief investigator of the House of Representatives Committee of Jan. 6 said the riots – which some say Trump instigated – are part of a “multiple plan to prevent the transfer of power” after the 2020 election.
Timothy Heaphy, a former US attorney, said he believes the Justice Department also needs to indict several of former President Donald Trump’s allies, including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and his attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Meadows never testified before the committee, while Giuliani revealed very little — pleading the Fifth throughout his testimony.
The House Select Committee spent months investigating the involvement of Trump and his allies in instigating the riots and asked several members of his inner circle to testify.
Though some chose to remain silent when called before the panel, Heaphy said the DOJ will ultimately make a decision about who to indict, based on what additional evidence it can obtain — beyond what the committee has found submitted to the House of Representatives.
And last summer, Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 400 times during his testimony before the New York Attorney’s Office.
The former president refused to answer any questions during the four-hour interrogation on Aug. 10.
Trump had to travel to New York City this summer to appear for testimony in James’ civil fraud investigation into the former president.
On his August 10 appearance, Trump politely answered James’ opening questions before addressing the several hundred denials of Wallace’s requests.
Trump replied “yes” when James asked if he was familiar with the rules for making a statement.