Trump campaign shoulders big legal bills as Russia probes rapidly expand
WASHINGTON — President Trump already has stockpiled nearly $12 million for his 2020 re-election campaign, but his spending on legal expenses is soaring as his administration deals with a rapidly expanding investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and the Russian government, documents released Saturday afternoon show.
Trump’s campaign racked up more than $677,000 in “legal consulting” fees between April and June, more than twice the $249,000 he spent on legal bills during the first three months of his presidency, newly filed Federal Election Commission reports show.
Most of the legal expenses were tied to his longtime election law firm, Jones Day.
But the filings also show a nearly $90,000 payment for legal expenses to his company, the Trump Organization, and $50,000 payment on June 27 to the law firm of Alan Futerfas, the New York-based criminal attorney now representing Donald Trump Jr.Â
The younger Trump is facing increased scrutiny over revelations that he met a Russian lawyer in the heat of the 2016 presidential campaign, believing that the Russian government had dirt to offer on Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton.Â
Michael Glassner, the executive director of Trump’s campaign, did not immediately respond to requests for more information about the payment to Futerfas and whether it amounted to a plan to use campaign dollars for all of the younger Trump’s future legal bills.
Using donors’ money to pay his son’s legal bills “should be permissible,” Washington election lawyer Ken Gross told USA TODAY, because the younger Trump’s actions “were purportedly on behalf of the campaign.”
On Saturday, the president formally announced the addition of a veteran Washington lawyer Ty Cobb to his legal team at the White House. Cobb, a partner in the investigations practice at the Hogan Lovells firm is expected to oversee the White House’s legal and media response to the Russia probes.
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