President Trump's campaign, which is actively fundraising for 2020, spent $677,826 on "legal consulting" in April, May, and June of this year, new campaign finance disclosures revealed Saturday. That is a marked rise from the campaign's legal expenditures in the first quarter of 2017; for example, $538,265 of that figure went to the organization's primary law firm, Jones Day, which from January to March was paid $190,306, less than half the second quarter payment.
Also included in the total is $50,000 for Donald Trump Jr.'s lawyer, paid two weeks before the revelation of Trump Jr.'s 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer and a former Soviet counterintelligence officer in hopes of acquiring incriminating information about Hillary Clinton.
The Trump campaign proper plus two affiliated joint fundraising committees together raised $13.9 million for 2020 in the reported three-month period. The payments to attorneys are legal so long as the lawyers limit their attention to parts of the Russia collusion investigation pertaining to the campaign.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
The daily gossip: Man arrested in connection with shooting of Tupac Shakur, an OceanGate movie is in the works, and moreFeature The daily gossip: September 29, 2023
-
What to expect from an El Niño winter
The Explainer Things might be different thanks to this well-known weather phenomenon
-
The week’s best photojournalism
In Pictures A steaming volcano, a giant crater and more
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
-
Will the cannabis banking bill get the Senate's green light?
Talking Point The SAFER Banking Act is advancing to the US Senate for the first time, clearing a major hurdle for legal cannabis businesses. Does it stand a chance?
-
Biden creates White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Speed Read The office will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
