Trump biographer raises questions about his wealth as campaign donors foot the bill for his many lawyers
Former President Donald Trump’s PACs have spent about $50 million in donor money on his legal bills last year, sources told The New York Times.
The “staggering sum” spent by Trump on his legal fees and investigation-related expenses is about the same amount his lone remaining GOP primary opponent Nikki Haley raised across all her committees last year, the Times’ Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher write. Federal Election Commission filings this week are expected to detail the full extent of Trump’s “enormous financial strain,” they added.
Trump, who has a penchant for relying on campaign donations to pay his lawyers if he actually pays them at all, has used his Save America PAC to cover his legal costs. When the PAC ran low on cash last year, Trump asked for an unusual refund of $60 million that had been transferred to the pro-Trump MAGA Inc. PAC. Trump has also been directing 10% of donations raised through Save America to a PAC that primarily pays his lawyers, according to the Times.
How is it legal to use campaign funds for personal legal costs?
Because laws that are not enforced are nothing more than friendly suggestions.
Over ten years ago Colbert showed how PAC money could be legally transformed into a personal slush fund. It was a hilarious segment that he did over an entire season to show how the Citizens United law allows anonymous money to go right into politicians’ pockets. He won a Peabody award for it.
Citizens United will be the death of this country.
It’s payback for the genocide and slavery, probably.
YT / Piped
Making a better tomorrow… tomorrow.
Wish I could find the original announcement. Here’s a follow up from his show (YT / Piped). I’d forgotten about Ham Rove!
So many even bigger assholes have appeared that Carl Rove hardly rates anymore.
The Emoluments Clause has entered the chat
Emoluments Clause: “I’m interested in that answer too”
I think you mean the Emoluments No-Claws
Same answer, even.
The emoluments clause does not apply to Trump he isn’t a federal office holder.
He was when he was receiving the emoluments.
It’s legal if you accurately specify where the funds will be going. Iirc, his website states that funds will go to legal challenges or whatever.
It’s not
This is Donald J. Trump. Since when has something being illegal ever stopped him?
Republicans always turn a blind eye to their own.
They aren’t campaign funds. They are funds donated to a Political Action Committee (PAC).
The funds are coming from a PAC. I’m hearing the rules are different from normal campaign contributions.
A PAC is a fancy name for Bribe Collection Fund.
It’s not illegal if you run it through the correct laundering methods.
It’s what happens when the rules are being made by the recipients of the bribes.
Anthony “my son gave Trump 250 Million dollars, also money is speech and corporations are people” Kennedy is laughing at us.
I think it’s technically not, but there’s a million loopholes.
Even if it is illegal, what are you gonna do? Charge him? Get in line.
Pretty sure you can use raised funds for anything as long as you disclose what you’re using it for. The questionable part is when he sends an email from his campaign saying “Trump needs your help to stop the woke mob” or whatever and then in the fine print says “money goes to [some ambiguously named PAC called like 'USA Defense” which was created just to pay Trump’s legal bills)"…he technically didn’t say it was for his political campaign.