Donald Trump's Save America PAC Spent $16 Million on His Legal Battles in 2022
Donald Trump faced various legal challenges, from a rape case to various other lawsuits. How did he pay for them? It seems that he used donor money from his Super PAC, Save America, to pay all those legal fees and fund his lawyers.
Political Action Committees or PACS are often raised with money from donors so that candidates can campaign and win an election or used to defeat a certain candidate. However, according to the New York Times, Trump's Save America PAC spent over $16 million of its money to pay his legal fees.
These payments were between 2021 and 2022, according to the PAC's own filings. Some of that money was for lawyers representing witnesses in investigations regarding the former president's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential elections, which he lost to Joe Biden.
However, a big majority of those payments, amounting to around $10 million, went to various investigations and lawsuits that the president and his company, the Trump Organization, faced.
The outlet noted that before Trump even became president, the New York-based real estate mogul had been infamous for refusing to pay his bills to a wide range of service providers and contractors, including lawyers. The former president often noted that they received "free advertising" by working with him.
How Much Did Donald Trump's Lawyers Get From the Save America PAC?
The money from Save America looks like it was used to represent Trump and his business and family interests. It showed the PAC paying over $12.5 million to 16 law firms that represented him in various cases.
Trump defense attorney Alina Habba, who represented the former president in various court cases last year, received almost $2 million from Save America in 2022. Meanwhile, another law firm, van der Veen, Hartshorn and Levin, was paid $1.4 million, as was reported in federal election records.
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The firm represented Trump in his 2021 impeachment proceedings, as well as the Trump Organization in various New York lawsuits, according to CNN.
The PAC also paid the legal fees for close Trump allies, including former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Large law firms such as McGuireWoods and Squire Patton Boggs received around $900,000 and $250,000, respectively, when they represented former White House Staff, including Meadows.
Donald Trump in a Fundraising Battle With Ron DeSantis
Just as it was revealed that the Trump PAC money was going to his legal battles, the former president is now also trying to woo in more donors to his side as he prepares for a primary showdown with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
According to The Independent, Trump is holding a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago private club in West Palm Beach for the first fundraiser for his new political action committee. Several top donors are expected, and it is scheduled to happen on Thursday evening, a day before DeSantis is scheduled to host his own fundraiser just four miles away at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach.
So far, only Trump and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, have announced their intent to seek office. DeSantis, while currently the favorite, has not yet announced his candidacy but is expected to formally announce soon.
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Written by: Rick Martin
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