Trump leadership PAC spent $5.6M on legal expenses in February: FEC filing

Trump leadership PAC spent $5.6M on legal expenses in February: FEC filing | The Hill

FILE – Former U.S. President Donald Trump, with lawyers Christopher Kise and Alina Habba, attends the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York, Jan. 11, 2024. Trump lawyers filed a notice of appeal Monday, Feb. 26, for his $454 million New York civil fraud judgment, challenging a judge’s finding that he lied about his wealth as he grew the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency. (Shannon Stapleton/Pool Photo via AP, File)

The leadership PAC for former President Trump spent about $5.6 million on legal expenses last month, adding to the millions already spent in his legal battles, according to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing.

The filing from Save America showed a wide range of legal consulting fees that the PAC made to various entities, ranging from as low as a few hundred dollars to more than $1 million. The PAC overall spent more than it took in during February, making more than $7.2 million in disbursements while taking in just over $5 million, most of it coming as a refund from the Trump-supporting super PAC, Make America Great Again, Inc.

That left Save America with just about $4 million in cash on hand to start March. It also owes just over half a million in legal fees to pay back in the future.

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Fundraising has been an ongoing issue for Trump and his allies as the former president’s legal expenses have eaten up a significant amount of the total it has raised. The leadership PAC spent almost $3 million in legal consulting expenses in January.

Trump’s fundraising committees spent roughly $50 million last year on legal fees, including almost $30 million in the second half of the year.

The presumptive Republican nominee for president in 2024 is facing four criminal indictments in separate jurisdictions on both the federal and state level. He has also had to face civil lawsuits related to his business and being found liable for sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll, which have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in fines in total.

President Biden’s campaign operation has meanwhile significantly outraised Trump’s total. Biden’s campaign raised about $53 million in February, while Trump only took in $20 million across his campaign and joint fundraising committee.