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.

  • @Tyfud
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    210 months ago

    Innocent until proven guilty is not a mantra.

    It is how the legal system needs to work. It does not mean that your are innocent into proven guilty in the eye of the public, or historical records. It’s purely about setting expectations for a working justice system that needs that presumption to function.

    That does not mean that a person is innocent and everyone should treat them as if they’re innocent until the verdict comes down.

    This is an important distinction to make.

    • @PrettyLights
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      210 months ago

      Sure, but there’s a difference between feeling someone is guilty and stating they were convicted. We shouldn’t knowingly be making factually incorrect statements.

      It feeds the right when people are so TDS that they are okay with spreading mistruths or fake news.

      • @Tyfud
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        210 months ago

        That’s true and fair.