Trump’s Legal Payouts Plummet as He Pawns Off Costs on RNC
Donald Trump has earned a reputation as perhaps the most litigious American politician in living memory. But, while that defining characteristic has not changed since he left office a year ago, Trump’s most recent campaign finance filings reveal a sharp and dramatic drop in legal expenses.
It’s not because he’s involved in any fewer legal battles, however. It’s because he got someone else to start picking up the tab.
According to financial disclosures filed on Monday, Trump-affiliated committees paid their various lawyers and firms a combined $2.3 million for their services between July 1 and Dec. 31. That may seem like a lot—and in absolute terms it is for any politician—but the amount is actually less than 30 percent of the $8 million in legal expenses Trump’s political groups incurred during the first half of the year.
And yet, while Trump was cutting back, the Republican National Committee saw an unusual off-year bump. When the national party ledgers closed on Dec. 31, they had racked up more than $5.3 million in legal fees during the back half of 2021—a marked increase over the first half of the year, and more than double Trump’s own costs over the same period.
That’s because, in August, for reasons still unknown to the public, RNC officials agreed to cover $1.6 million of Trump’s upcoming legal fees. The RNC claimed that at least part of the pledge would fund Trump’s defense against ongoing criminal and civil investigations into his business practices—practices which predate his candidacy for office.
Or, in the words of an RNC spokesperson, “certain legal expenses that related to politically motivated legal proceedings waged against [ex-]President Trump.”
And that $1.6 million largesse lines up fairly closely with the $1.1 million spike in the RNC’s legal fees.
A review of RNC filings since August shows that the committee has, in that time, paid more than a million dollars to firms who have recently represented Trump in legal disputes. However, the incestuous overlap between committees and law firms makes it difficult to know for sure how close the RNC is to tapping out its $1.6 million budget.
Of course, in the light of the previous $8 million splurge, Trump’s most recent $2.3 million six-month total may seem reasonable—even more so when stacked against the $7.2 million in legal costs the ex-president’s donors shelled out to bankroll the eight-week pseudo-litigation blitz between Election Day and the end of 2020. During that period, Trump spent an astounding $125,000 a day.
But step outside of the MAGAverse and perspective reasserts itself—with a vengeance.
FEC data shows that President Joe Biden’s affiliated political committees paid his lawyers a combined $403,000 over the course of 2021. That’s about 4 percent of Trump’s total over the same period. The Democratic National Committee also eased back on the legal throttle after the inauguration.
more:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-legal-payouts-plummet-as-he-pawns-off-costs-on-rnc?via=newsletter&source=DDMorning
Do something positive.
| 