Recent campaign disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) detailed Donald Trump’s political action committees’ (PACs) expenditures in 2023, providing some stunning information: Two of his leadership PACs, Save America and Make America Great Again, spent more than $50 million total in legal expenses, $29 million in the last half of 2023 alone. Save America, which is “the primary vehicle to pay Trump’s legal expenses,” according to NBC News, spent $21 million in the first half of 2023, with over 47 law firms and attorneys the recipients of funds, per its FEC filing. The PAC’s previously reported spending around $16 million through 2022 on legal expenses. That’s a huge bump in legal spend in just one year alone.
Those lawyers who are willing, in some cases, to gamble their professional reputations and credibility to take on Trump’s defense don’t come cheap, even if the value and quality of their skills and competency are sometimes questioned.
Consider also the fact that all of Trump’s PACs raised about $213 million dollars and expended around $210 million, almost 25% of which was spent on lawyers and law firms for his many ongoing legal cases.
But what exactly is Trump getting for all of this money? Those lawyers who are willing, in some cases, to gamble their professional reputations and credibility to take on Trump’s defense don’t come cheap, even if the value and quality of their skills and competency are sometimes questioned. For example, the recent Save America FEC filing for 2023 reflects that Alina Habba, Trump’s attorney in the most recent E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, was paid nearly $4 million. And yet, courtesy of Habba’s less-than-stellar trial performance coupled with Trump’s petulant and disrespectful antics both inside and outside of the courtroom, the jury returned a whopping $83.3 million defamation verdict against Trump, inclusive of $65 million in punitive damages. That $4 million spent by…
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