Trump Drawn on Campaign Donations as a Piggy Bank for his Legal Expenses to a Degree far Greater than any of his Predecessors.
In New York, Trump dispatched a Team of Lawyers to seek Damages of more than $1 Million from a Former Campaign Worker after she Claimed she had been the Target of Sexual Discrimination and Harassment by another Aide. The Lawyers have been paid $1.5 Million by the Trump Campaign for Work on the Case.
In Washington, Trump and his Campaign Affiliates hired Lawyers to assist Members of his Staff and Family, including a Onetime Bodyguard, his Oldest Son, and his Son-in-Law, as they were pulled into Investigations related to Russia and Ukraine. The Republican National Committee (RNC) has Paid at least $2.5 Million in Legal Bills to the Firms that did this and other Legal Work.
In California, Trump Sued to Block a Law that would have Forced him to Release his Taxes if he wanted to Run for Re-Election. The Trump Campaign and the RNC have Paid the Law Firm handling this Case, among others, $1.8 Million.
Trump’s Tendency to turn to the Courts, and the Legal Issues that have stemmed from Norm-Breaking Characteristics of his Presidency, helps explain how he and his Affiliated Political Entities have spent at least $58.4 Million in Donations on Legal and Compliance Work since 2015.
The Spending on behalf of Trump covers Not only Legal Work that would be relatively Routine for any President or Candidate and some of the Costs related to the Russia Inquiry and his Impeachment, but also Cases in which he has a Personal Stake, including attempts to Enforce Nondisclosure Agreements and Protect his Business Interests.
Many of the Bills being Paid by Donors to Trump and his Party have come from the RNC’s “Recount Account.” It is a Special Fund created after 2014 when Congress, at the Request of Campaign Finance Lawyers and Leaders of both Parties, allowed much Larger Contributions by Individuals to the Political Parties, totaling $106,500 per Person, compared with the Normal $2,800 Limit.
It is impossible to know based on Federal Election Commission (FEC) Filings how much of the $58.4 Million in total Legal Bills went to Routine Legal Work. Payments from the Political Committees to Lawyers and Law Firms are Not Itemized by Case, so the Filings do Not Break-Down how much Donor Money went to Pay for Specific Legal Actions. It is also hard to Differentiate between Legal Clashes Trump has Initiated and those in which he is the Target of Opponents.
A Growing Portion of the Overall Legal Spending has come recently as his Campaign has Stepped-Up its efforts to Battle Democratic Actions to make Voting Easier.
An Examination of Spending by his Various Campaign Arms Documents how the Intermingling of his: Presidency, Business Interests; Campaigns; Defense against the Russia Investigation; Impeachment; and Eagerness to Penalize Rivals, have led to Millions of Dollars in Donor Money going to Help Bankroll Litigation.
Drawing on Donations to Pay many Legal Expenses is Permitted by Campaign Finance Law. But as he has done with other Aspects of the Presidency, Trump has Redefined the Practice in ways that have Unsettled even some Republicans, who Point in Particular to Examples like his Efforts to Enforce Nondisclosure Agreements with Former Staff Members, that is common in a Business Environment.
The Filings do Not address the Value of Work for which he has not been Charged, like Rudolph W. Giuliani’s Unpaid Position as his Personal Lawyer. Nor do they account for the Legal Support Trump Receives from the Justice Department, which has helped Defend him on Issues that blur the line between his Public and Private Roles, like the Constitutional Prohibition on a President receiving Benefits from other Governments and Efforts to obtain his Tax Returns and Financial Records.
The advent of the Special Recount Account for Legal Expenses has fueled an Explosion of Available Cash for both Political Parties. But because the FEC has given Little Guidance over how Money put into these Accounts can be Spent, the Political Parties have used them on a Variety of seemingly Unrelated Purposes, including Charter Airplane Flights.
Trump’s Reliance on High-Dollar Donations had led to Questions about whether Contributors from: Casinos; Wall Street; Coal; and Other Industries, Expect something in Return. Republican Donors who have sent Large Amounts of Money since 2019 to this Special Legal Account include: Joseph Craft, the Chief Executive of a Coal Mining Company that has Benefited from Trump’s Regulatory Actions; Stephen A. Schwarzman, the CEO of the Blackstone Group and Thomas J. Barrack Jr., both Private Equity Investors, who have long been Close to Trump; and Members of the Fertitta Family of Las Vegas, who own a Casino there.
Trump, who has always Preferred to use Other People’s Money in his Business Ventures, the Reliance on Campaign Funds as a Legal Kitty extends to Issues that are of concern to him Personally. The Biggest Payments have gone to the Jones Day Law Firm, which has Received a total of $18.8 Million from Trump’s Campaign, the RNC, and America First Action, a super PAC closely affiliated with Trump. Most of that Spending, $11.5 Million came from Trump’s Campaign, reflecting the Firm’s Heavy Load of Campaign-related Work as well as Cases more Personally tied to Trump.
Robert Weissman, the President of Public Citizen, a Nonprofit Group that has Tracked Ethical Issues during the Trump Administration, said the use of Campaign and Federal Government Funds to Finance Legal Actions captured a Dizzying Array of Themes his Group has sought to Highlight. The Legal work, he said, is being used to Defend Violence at Political Rallies, chill the Free Speech of Former Aides and Fight Allegations of Unethical Actions by Trump himself. And it is being Paid for in part by Large Individual Donors who could seek Help from Trump in Dealing with Government Actions that Affect their Own interests at a time when the Justice Department has moved from simply Defending the President to helping Protect his Personal Finances, he said. “It is an astounding nexus of corruption,” Mr. Weissman said. “And the legal system in the United States is the one that is supposed to be defending justice.”
Sample of the Legal Work:
Jones Day - Among the 20 Suits include: One filed by Demonstrators who Claimed they were Beaten at a Kentucky Political Rally; a Filing in Federal Court claiming that Trump and his Allies helped Distribute Information obtained by Russian Hackers during the 2016 Election; and One from a Missouri man who claimed he was Arrested after he simply Laughed while at a Trump Rally.
Boutique Law Firms: Smaller Amounts have gone to Daniel K. Hagood, a Texas Lawyer whose website says he Specializes in “representing companies and individual entangled in the criminal justice system.” He has been paid $254,331 this year by America First Action, a super PAC associated with Trump.
Lawrence S. Rosen: Who works out of Trump’s 40 Wall Street Office Building in Manhattan and has handled Real Estate Legal Disputes and other Issues for Trump for Decades. Bills from Rosen’s Firm to the Trump Campaign total $1.5 Million. They include: Legal Actions involving Jessica Denson, a Los Angeles-based Actress who took a Job at Trump Tower in New York as a Supervisor of the Campaign’s National Phone Bank; Omarosa Manigault Newman, a Former Guest on “The Apprentice” Reality Show who later became a Campaign Aide; Cliff Sims, a Former White House Communications Aide. Each of them spoke Publicly in a way that Trump considered Critical of him or his Campaign. In each Case, the Trump asserted that they had Violated their Nondisclosure Agreements. Mr. Rosen also Represented the Campaign in a Lawsuit that involved a 2016 Campaign Aide who became Pregnant during an Affair with her Boss, Jason Miller, and was then Dismissed after Miller reportedly told her she could Not be seen “waddling around the White House pregnant,” the Lawsuit says.
Lawyers Defending Former Trump Aides: Said the Use of Campaign Funds to Bankroll Trump’s Legal Efforts is Part of a Long-Running Strategy to Intimidate and Silence his Critics. “It is the weaponization of lawsuits that are frivolous.” said John Phillips, a Florida Lawyer representing Ms. Manigault Newman. “And they are intended to suppress First Amendment speech. No other president in this history of the United States has ever resorted to anything like this.”
Defending himself against Lawsuits by Individuals who Claim they were Assaulted at Campaign Events: Has consumed a Significant Chunk of Campaign Funds. Those include long-running Lawsuits filed by a Massachusetts Peace Activist, Rod Webber, who Sued Trump’s Campaign after he claimed he was Thrown “head first into a table” after he had tried to ask a Question of Trump in 2015 during an Event in New Hampshire. The Trump Campaign has Paid $101,828 to a New Hampshire-based Firm, Cleveland, Water and Bass, that has been Handling the Case since last year.
The Investigations of Trump by the Special Counsel and Congressional Democrats: have Generated Large Legal Tabs that have been Picked-Up, in part by the President’s Political Operation. That includes Paying for Lawyers to help Represent Members of his Family who were Targeted in Lawsuits or were called to Testify, including Donald Trump Jr., and Jared Kushner.
Campaign Donations have gone to Pay Legal Bills for: Hope Hicks, a White House Adviser; Keith Schiller, the Former Bodyguard for Trump; Boris Epshteyn, a Former Sinclair Broadcast Group Commentator who now Serves as a Trump Campaign Adviser, and Corey R. Lewandowski, Trump’s Former Campaign Manager.
The Case of Michael D. Cohen: Mr. Trump’s former Personal Lawyer, showed the Limits to Trump’s willingness to foot Legal Bills. When Cohen was pulled into the Investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia, the Trump Campaign covered a Large Share of his Legal Tab. But after Federal Investigators Raided Cohen’s Office, questions began to emerge about whether Cohen might turn on Trump. “Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if it means lying or making up stories,” Trump said on Twitter on April 21st, Four days after his Campaign Paid $48,342 to Cohen’s Lawyer, a Small Share of the Remaining Amount Owed. “Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!” But soon enough, Cohen did Flip. The Campaign then Halted Payments to his Lawyer.
The Impeachment effort Produced Substantial Spending by Trump’s Political Entities. Trump’s Campaign and the RNC, which has been Raising and Spending Money in Coordination with Trump, have helped Pay the Legal Bills. It is Not known how much they Charged, or whether All the Payments to them stem from their Work on Impeachment. But Trump-affiliated Campaign Entities have Paid these Lawyers and their Firms $2 Million since 2018.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment