How Trump Finally Found a Way to Pay His Legal Fees – Political Donations

 

How Trump Finally Found a Way to Pay His Legal Fees: Political Donations

“The Art of the Steal” – NY AG Letitia James

“It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes.” 

 Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to the House Oversight Committee in February of 2021

Even if Donald Trump, in the ordinary course of business well before he ran for President, overstated his net worth by billions of dollars in applications for huge bank loans to finance his real estate investments (as alleged in New York’s civil lawsuit for fraud against the Trump family), he is a rich man who can easily afford paying the legal fees of the many attorneys he has engaged over the years. But Trump’s pre-election reputation as an honorable businessman had been tainted for years. Trump University settled a fraud claims for $25 million. His companies have avoided paying creditors and employees over the years by declaring bankruptcy multiple times. He and his companies have been sued thousands of times. Just ask the lawyers he didn’t pay.

In December of 2019, while Donald Trump was President of the United States, New York shut down the Trump Foundation for its misconduct. In a settlement with the state, Trump individually was forced to pay $2 million for misusing charitable funds for his own political gain. The NY Attorney General then stated: “Trump was ordered to pay $2 million, or $250,000, a piece to eight different charities. Those charities are Army Emergency Relief, the Children’s Aid Society, Citymeals-on-Wheels, Give an Hour, Martha’s Table, the United Negro College Fund, the United Way of National Capital Area, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Additionally, Trump was forced to reimburse his namesake foundation $11,525 for sports paraphernalia and champagne purchased at a charity gala, which was added to $1,797,598.30 already in the foundation’s bank account. The combined $1,809,123.30 was split evenly and recently transferred to the eight agreed upon charities. Each charity ended up receiving a total of $476,140.41.” Donald Trump was no longer able to set up charitable foundations in New York without extreme scrutiny of the NY AG.

Trump then left his residency in New York and moved to Mar-a-Lago in Florida (his home away from the White House… and after his term expired). We are all aware of the investigations of the House January 6th Committee, and the parallel investigation by the Department of Justice, into the connection between Donald Trump, his administration and his associates relating to the Capitol Insurrection (causes and aftermath). We are aware of the Fulton County investigation into Donald Trump’s recorded attempt to cause the Georgia Secretary of State to “find” 11,780 votes to reverse the 2020 election result in that state. We know about the DOJ’s ongoing investigation into Trump’s seemingly unlawful possession of classified documents in his post-presidency residence. Most of us are aware that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating Trump’s possible criminal violations in connection with financial information in bank loan applications and tax filings, but civil lawsuit by the NY AG’s office, alleging major business fraud filed on September 20th, is the latest legal action, a possible massive financial slam to the net worth of Trump and his three older children, who were involved in the cited businesses.

“Atty. Gen. Letitia James’ lawsuit, filed in state court in New York, is the culmination of the Democrat’s three-year civil investigation of Trump and the Trump Organization. Trump’s three eldest children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump, were also named as defendants, along with two longtime company executives, Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney.

“The lawsuit seeks to strike at the core of what made Trump famous, scrutinizing the image of wealth and opulence he’s embraced throughout his career — first as a real estate developer, then as a reality TV host on ‘The Apprentice,’ and later as president… ‘Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself, and cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us,’ James said at the news conference [announcing the suit].” Associated Press, September 21st. A quarter of a billion dollars’ worth.

So much of the above-cited investigation and related criminal and civil litigation (actual and potential) is based on the personal actions of Donald Trump, much of it even before he ran for office. Notorious for not paying his lawyers – often publicly trashing them when their services are ended – Trump recently had difficulties retaining competent attorneys in connection with his current turmoil. But paying them was no longer an issue.

Very few people in this country, involved in serious legal controversies, have a blank check to pay for their legal difficulties. Oh sure, indigent criminal defendants can get an overworked public defender, who will almost always try and work a plea deal with the prosecution, but getting first rate lawyers… essentially for free?! Unless you are Donald Trump. He no longer has to fund his lawyers himself.

Writing for the September 21st Yahoo!news, Michael Isikoff fills in the details: “As he faces a major new lawsuit from the New York attorney general that could shut down his business, former President Donald Trump will have one advantage that is unavailable to most well-healed defendants: He won’t have to pay for much, if any, of his legal defense… The reason: His political donors are doing it for him.

“Recent filings by Save America, Trump’s political action committee, show the group has shelled out $1,128,020 this year to lawyers who have spearheaded his and his family’s defense in their legal battle with New York Attorney General Letitia James… These include $942,277 to the law firm of Alina Habba, the New Jersey-based lawyer who has been Trump’s lead lawyer in the case. The total includes $207,827 paid just last month. In addition, Alan Futerfas, another longtime Trump lawyer who is representing the former president’s children in the case, received $184,743 from Save America in July.

“‘It’s an outrageous abuse of his donors to Save America,’ said Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based nonprofit, about the use of political committee funds to defend Trump and his family in a lawsuit that is largely focused on his business activities long before he became president or even a candidate.” Some have complained that Trump’s solicitation of some of these donations had nothing to do with funding his legal woes.

And if these donations seem abusive, I should remind you of the Republican National Committee picking up a seven-figure tab for Trump’s legal fees. “Since October 2021, the Republican National Committee has paid nearly $2 million to law firms representing Trump as part of his defense against personal litigation and government investigations.” ABC News, July 27th. The RNC has also informed Mr Trump that if he becomes formal candidate for the 2024 election, they will have to stop funding those fees. No worries, because Trump’s donors are picking up the slack though Trump’s Save America political action committee.

I’m Peter Dekom, and not only does Mr. Trump truly believe he is above the law, that he can delay and manipulate the system to his singular advantage, but where he faces massive legal fees from his personal misconduct, his MAGA donors are throwing money at their billionaire leader to pick up that legal tab.