Trump Is Using Campaign Donations to Pay His Legal Bills

Trump Attorney: ‘That’s None of Your Business’

President Donald Trump has never stopped running for president. His campaign routinely sends out fundraising emails and the front page of his campaign website (partial screenshot above) features at least three “contribute” buttons.

Trump regularly holds re-election rallies and sometimes even uses official White House presidential speeches to engage in partisan politics – which the FEC should investigate.

But some of Trump’s donors who have continued to send the president money even after the November election might be surprised to learn their hard-earned money is not being used to help Trump get re-elected, it’s being used to help fund his legal defense in the Russia investigation, Reuters reports.

Trump is using re-election campaign donations and funds from the RNC “to pay for his lawyers in the probe of alleged Russian interference in the U.S. election,” Reuters reports Tuesday afternoon. “Trump would be the first U.S. president in the modern campaign finance era to use such funds to cover the costs of responding to a criminal probe,” Reuters adds.

“John Dowd, Trump’s lead lawyer, declined to say how the president’s legal bills were being paid, adding: ‘That’s none of your business,'” Reuters adds.

In case you’re wondering, using campaign funds to pay for a candidate’s legal defense is not illegal. The Federal Election Commission allows the use of those funds to pay for attorneys and other legal expenses.

But that doesn’t mean it’s the standard.

“President Bill Clinton, who ran two publicly funded campaigns, had supporters start legal defense funds and used his own insurance to help pay legal bills during the Whitewater investigation. He still wound up with millions of dollars in personal debt which he paid off through speaking fees he earned once he left office.”

And Reuters notes that “Trump also filed for reelection the day he took office in January, two years earlier than any previous president, ensuring a fund of millions in campaign cash would remain at his disposal.”

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