According Reuters and CNN, President Trump isn’t paying for his own legal team in the Russia investigation. Instead, he is using money donated to the Republican National Committee and his 2020 re-election campaign.
The RNC’s spending report, scheduled for release Wednesday, will show its legal defense fund paid Trump’s lead lawyer, John Dowd, $100,000 and Jay Sekulow’s law firm $131,250. Sekulow joined the Trump legal team in June. The RNC also has paid $200,000 of Donald Trump Jr.’s Russia investigation-related legal bills.
The Trump campaign disclosure isn’t due until October 15th, but CNN says it spent more than $677,826 on legal fees last quarter.
It is not illegal for a candidate to use private campaign funds to pay for legal matters stemming from being an elected official, but Trump would be the first in modern times to spend campaign donations on a criminal investigation.