According to The Wall Street Journal, John Dowd, President Trump's former lawyer, tried several ways to cover Paul Manafort's and Rick Gates' legal expenses, including diverting White House legal defense funds, soliciting donations, and offering up $25,000 of his own money.
John Dowd, who at the time was heading Mr. Trump’s legal team, at the start of the year told associates of the president he wanted to direct money from the legal defense fund set up for White House officials and campaign aides to the lawyers for Messrs. Manafort and Gates, according to people familiar with the matter. The pair had pleaded not guilty to charges of tax, bank and lobbying violations in the fall of 2017.
That idea was rebuffed by ethics advisers in the White House, the people said. The fund had been set up specifically to aid those who faced legal fees stemming from their involvement with the president. While the charges facing Messrs. Manafort and Gates had stemmed from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, they pertained to activities that predated the Trump campaign, making the two aides ineligible for those funds.
On Feb. 22, Mr. Dowd told associates of the president in an email that Messrs. Manafort and Gates needed funds immediately, according to people familiar with the matter. He said he planned to donate $25,000 to Mr. Manafort’s legal defense fund the next day.
The next day, Mr. Gates pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
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In an email to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Dowd said he had considered making the donation, but “upon the advice I received, I did not make that contribution.”
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One person familiar with the conversations said Mr. Dowd believed such a fund would help prevent Messrs. Manafort and Gates—formerly the chairman and deputy chairman, respectively, of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign—from pleading guilty and potentially cooperating against the president. ...
In an interview this week, Mr. Dowd said he was motivated by frustration with how Mr. Manafort had been treated by investigators, not by a desire to interfere in the probe.
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When Mr. Gates pleaded guilty in late February to two charges of financial misdeeds, he owed more than $200,000 to some of his lawyers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mr. Manafort, who was convicted on eight charges in a trial last month in Virginia, last week pleaded guilty to two federal crimes to stave off a second trial, and he agreed to cooperate with investigators. Mr. Gates was a witness for prosecutors at his trial. Mr. Manafort last year changed representation and at the time owed substantial sums in unpaid legal bills to his former law firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ex-Trump Lawyer Tried to Help Pay Legal Fees for Manafort, Gates (WSJ) *Note: All WSJ articles appear behind a paywall