United States – The fundraising group, which is led by Donald Trump, who is involved in the four criminal trials as he is seeking the United States presidency, stepped up the legal expenses this month and sent more money away from efforts of his return to the White House, financial reports revealed on Wednesday.
Record Legal Expense Outlays
In a filing to the Federal Election Commission, the group Save America recorded legal expense outlays of more than USD 5.5 million in February, the biggest single month of such spending since Trump, a Republican, formed the organization in 2020 following his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, as reported by Reuters.
The burning marked an escalation from the almost USD 3 million that Save America reported legal bills expenses in January. The organization fundraises jointly with the Trump Election Campaign. However, it is separate from the campaign and has spent about USD 55 million on the Legal Bills since January 2023.
Financial distress is descending on the Trump organization, primarily as a result of several legal cases and the money used to defend such cases. Most of these cases and expenditures include the civil fraud case in New York, where he has not secured even a bond to cover a USD 454 million judgment. But it is not just the GOP polity. Donald Trump has also faced difficulties with getting some major Republican donors involved in his campaign, which has been overshadowed by Joe Biden.
Financial Distress Amid Legal Challenges
As Trump confronts his sentencing, there are more than 30 charges; some of the cases are linked to his efforts to invalidate his 2020 election defeat. He is asserting his innocence for all the accusations made by the prosecution attorney.
With a sufficient number of Republican delegates locked behind his name this March, Trump became officially the Republican candidate for the November election and will face a rematch against Biden.
Similarly, yesterday’s filing by ‘Save America,’ along with that of another co-claiming party, clearly proves the effect his campaign costs are having on his political chest.
America’s main source of income during the month, an improvement of USD 5 million of large cash involvement that Save America had transferred in 2022 to the super PAC affiliated with Trump, MAGA Inc. From the year 2022, the super PAC, a kind of a political organization (PAC) that can accept unlimited contributions from wealthy donors, returned most the USD 60 million it received from Save America, meaning it has had less to spend supporting Trump.
Legal Fees vs. Campaign
Saurav Ghosh, a campaign finance expert from the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan watchdog group, said that as Save America’s coffers will likely be depleted, paying off legal bills is one of the few (if not the only) ways for Trump to replenish his payments.
As Ghosh explained, the funds in Trump’s campaign committee can be lawfully used to pay legal expenses related to his political campaigns and duties as a president, but not towards his personal legal fees.
“The question is: To what extent is he willing to tap into that and endanger his ability to compete in the 2024 election?” Ghosh said.
However, on Wednesday, Trump’s campaign issued appeals for donations from a million of his supporters. The call for donations was a warning that he could face the loss of his New York Properties if found guilty.
The refund from MAGA Inc. to Save America was rounded roughly to USD 5.8 million, close to half of the USD 12.8 million the group raised from high-net-worth donors last month, including Robert Bigelow, the super PAC’s disclosure showed.
In addition to spending, Save America disclosed nearly USD 500,000 in debt obligations to a legal firm that has been representing him. The legal firm is the source of this information and stated that it represented Trump in “legal consulting.”
Separately, the Trump camp informed the Federal Election Commission in February that the amount of funds raised was USD 10.9 million, which was less than USD 21.3 million, as brought in by Biden, as reported by Reuters.
Besides, Trump has failed to raise as much cash as Biden has during the whole electoral campaign year. Don’t be scared off by big spending coupled with some anti-Trump donors trying to stop this cycle.
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