As he faces a major new lawsuit from the New York attorney general that could shut down his business, former President Donald Trump will have one advantage that is unavailable to most well-healed defendants.
Political donors are doing it for him.
Save America, Trump's political action committee, has spent more than one million dollars this year on lawyers who have defended him and his family in the New York Attorney General's case.
The law firm of Habba has been the lead lawyer in the case. Just last month, the total was paid. Save America gave Alan Futerfas $184,743 in July to represent the former president's children.
The director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center said that the use of political committee funds to defend Trump and his family was outrageous.
The payments are in a legal gray zone. Federal law forbids the use of campaign funds for personal use, and the Federal Election Committee has ruled that spending for legal expenses unrelated to a candidate's political or official duties is covered. There is no clear ruling on whether such prohibitions apply to Save America. Trump can rest assured that the FEC won't be taking legal action.
Habba and a spokesman for Trump didn't reply to requests for comment. It was not possible to reach Futerfas.
Donald Trump and his three adult children are accused of lying to banks and insurers as part of a pattern dating back to 2011. According to the allegations, Trump and his family inflated their assets by billions of dollars in order to get loans they might not have otherwise gotten.
James said at her press conference that claiming that you don't have money is not the art of the deal. The art of the steal is called it.
Habba and Futerfas tried to get subpoenas quashed in the case, but Habba said that James's case was focused on the Attorney General's agenda. The Attorney General's office has overstepped its authority by snooping into transactions where no wrongdoing has been committed. The judicial system will not tolerate this abuse of authority and we look forward to defending our client against the Attorney General's meritless claims.
Save America, founded by Trump after the 2020 election, has raised $103 million in the next four years. Save America's Joint Fundraising Committee raises money for both Save America and Trump's "fight to Save America" according to the donation page on the website.
There is no reference on the donation page to asking for money to help Trump. Save America gave out more than two million dollars to 19 law firms across the country to represent Trump in various investigations, including the criminal probes by the Justice Department and the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. Save America has footed the bill for lawyers representing a number of witnesses in those cases, including Peter Navarro, Trump's former trade adviser.
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