Trump Campaign Spent $3.8 Million on Legal Fees in May: Filings

Through five months of 2024, former President Donald Trump used about $24 million in political funds to pay lawyers.

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York City on May 30, 2024. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

The Trump campaign paid $3.8 million in legal bills in May as former President Donald Trump faced multiple felony charges in a New York court.

On June 20, three of the political committees associated with the Trump campaign issued monthly disclosure statements with the Federal Election Commission showing the various legal fees paid out in May.

According to the most recent public records, the Trump campaign and its various financial allies covered about $24 million in legal bills through the first five months of the year.

Save America, the former president’s qualified leadership political action committee, covered most of the costs. Federal records show the PAC paid out about $3.7 million to various firms for legal consulting and reimbursement for legal expenses. Additionally, the PAC ended the month indebted by about $862,000 to various legal firms for their services.

Smaller amounts were paid by the principal campaign committee, Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc., and the super PAC Make America Great Again Inc.

According to FEC records, Save America took in just $4,337.62 in May. However, it ended the month with $4.5 million in cash on hand.

The May financial returns for both the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee were robust. The Trump campaign outraised President Joe Biden, and the major Republican Party groups dedicated to federal candidates beat out their counterparts representing the Democratic Party.

Effect of Trial

In June, Republicans credited their fundraising windfall to what they called outrage over a “sham” conviction of former President Trump in a New York court.

On June 21, former President Trump repeated his claim that he did “nothing wrong.”

“It was only because my name is TRUMP that they went after me,” the former president said in a Truth Social post.

In a June 20 press memo, Biden campaign Rapid Response Director Ammar Moussa needled the Trump campaign about its continued use of political funds on law firms.

“Now that a jury of his peers found him guilty of 34 felonies, he’s only going to be spending millions MORE of his campaign cash on appeals and more cases,” Mr. Moussa said in a memo.

Since the ruling was handed down, the Biden campaign has leaned in on calling former President Trump a felon. On June 17, Biden For President announced a $50 million advertising plan in so-called battleground states that promote the message that the former president is “a criminal.”

The presumptive nominees for the Democratic Party and the Republican Party will meet in a televised debate to be broadcast on CNN on June 27. Both men will get the official nod from their parties during their conventions later in the summer.

With the general election now less than six months away, the former president still awaits several trials.

He faces two federal criminal trials. One Florida-based case concerning his handling of classified documents, and a Washington-based case that relates to his role in the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

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 wrongdoing and has repeatedly called the charges against him politically motivated.