Former President Donald Trump is running out of other people's money to spend on his legal bills, which could total in the tens of millions of dollars if he takes all four of his criminal cases to trial.
His key fund has spent nearly all of the more than $150 million it raised, and is sitting on less than $4 million, according to the latest numbers available. He’s already dug into his fund for 2024 ads, and borrowed money to post bail in Georgia. And some of his allies are begging for donations, saying he won’t pony up.
White collar criminal defense attorneys who spoke to USA TODAY estimated his legal bills will total millions, if not tens of millions, largely because he is defending against four criminal cases, but also because of his notoriety....
...Trump’s main account that pays for legal fees, Save America, doesn’t have that kind of money. It’s spent almost all of the $154.6 million it raised since the 2020 election and had $3.7 million in the bank at the end of June.
The PAC spent it biggest chunk of money, $60 million, making transfers to Trump’s 2024 campaign super PAC, Make America Great Again, Inc. But in May and June, as his legal entanglements grew, that super PAC refunded $12.3 million back to Save America. Without those transfers, Save America would’ve been in debt....
...The vast majority of codefendants are hiring lawyers without previous relationships with Save America, according to a review of records from the Fulton County court and the Federal Election Commission.....Four are receiving help through the Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo. They are John Eastman, the constitutional scholar who created a legal theory to help Trump claim victory; Jeff Clark, the acting attorney general Trump placed to help swing the election to him; lawyer Jenna Ellis who was involved in efforts in Pennsylvania; and fake elector Cathleen Latham.
Ellis, whose lawyer did not respond to a request for comment, has been promoting her GiveSendGo page on X, formerly known as Twitter, and asking if Trump would fund the codefendants’ legal expenses if he were to get the nomination. Prominent anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson has also promoted her page.
“No word from Trump,” Johnson wrote. “Nothing to defend these people who worked so hard for him. Not a dime of his money to fund their defense. Nothing. He has thrown all of them under the bus to prop himself up.”
