Trump Campaign Legal Spending Drops Sharply in June: Filings

In June, former President Donald Trump’s campaign and allied political action committees paid their lowest monthly amount in legal bills so far in 2024.

The Trump campaign paid less than $1 million in legal bills in June—a much lower amount than the preceding months this year.

On July 20, a number of political action committees associated with former President Donald Trump’s reelection effort issued disclosure statements showing they collectively paid about $827,000 to various firms for legal services in June.

According to the most recent public records, the Trump campaign and its various financial allies covered about $25 million in legal bills through the first half of the year.

In June, as usual, most of the bills were covered by the qualified leadership PAC Save America. During the month, according to Federal Election Commission records, Save America paid out about $827,000 to a number of law firms and companies for “legal consulting” or “reimbursement for legal services.”

According to its June disclosure, the PAC raised only $3,134 that month. It spent about $1.5 million. It ended the month with about $3 million in cash on hand.

However, Save America told the regulator it owes about $1.6 million in debts and obligations. All of its creditors are law firms, according to the FEC.

Along with paying for legal services and other campaign activities in June, Save America transferred $300,000 to another Trump ally: the super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. In the past, MAGA Inc. has been a major financial supporter of Save America.

Another Trump affiliate, the qualified unauthorized PAC Make America Great Again, paid about $114,000 in legal bills in June.

MAGA PAC files with the FEC on a quarterly basis. When its latest statement was issued on July 15, the PAC said it had paid a total of about $517,000 in legal fees between April and June.

According to MAGA PAC’s disclosure statements, the PAC received $1.2 million—the entirety of its quarterly fundraising— from Save America. MAGA PAC closed the second quarter with about $127,000 cash on hand.

The lower legal spending, and declining cash on hand amounts, could be signs the Trump campaign foresees smoother sailing ahead on the legal front.

The first half of 2024 was fraught with legal difficulties for the former president. The courtroom drama reached a climax when former President Trump received multiple felony convictions from a New York jury in late May.

In the second half of 2024, he could be facing a federal criminal trial in Washington that relates to his role in the Capitol breach of Jan. 6, 2021.

A Florida-based case concerning the former president’s handling of classified documents was dismissed on July 15, but the ruling was quickly appealed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Additionally, former President Trump faces a state trial in Georgia, alleging he conspired to subvert the results of the 2020 election in the Peach State.

The former president denies any wrongdoing and has repeatedly called the charges against him politically motivated.

 

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