Trump reelection committee spent over $1 out of every $5 on legal fees this year - Polidicks

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-legal-fees-20180415-story.html President Donald Trump's reelection campaign spent more than $1 out of every $5 on attorney fees this year as the president contended with the ongoing special counsel investigation and a new legal challenge from an adult-film star. Of the $3.9 million Trump's committee spent in the first quarter of 2018, more than $834,000 went to eight law firms and the Trump Corp. for legal fees, according to new Federal Election Commission records filed Sunday. The latest figures bring the Trump campaign's total spending on legal fees to nearly $4 million since the president took office, records show. In the last quarter of 2017, Trump's campaign committee spent $1.1 million in legal fees.The biggest share of legal payments in the first quarter of this year — about $348,000 — went to Jones Day, a law firm representing the campaign in the investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and several congressional committees into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Another $280,000 combined was paid to two law firms — Harder LLP and Larocca, Hornik, Rosen, Greenberg & Blaha — representing Trump and his personal attorney Michael Cohen in litigation with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. The Trump campaign paid another $13,500 to McDermott Will & Emery, a firm that represents Cohen in the ongoing Russia investigations and a newly revealed criminal inquiry. That was a sharp drop from the previous quarter, when the campaign paid the firm nearly $215,000. The campaign also paid legal fees to the Trump Corp. — a company being run by Trump's two older sons — and law firms Belkin, Burden, Wenig & Goldman LLP; Schertler & Onorato LLP; Seyfarth Shaw LLP; and Van Hoy, Reutlinger, Adams & Dunn PLLC. Unlike his predecessors, Trump began fundraising for 2020 soon after he won the presidency. He continues to energize small-dollar donors, FEC filings show. In first quarter of 2018, 61 percent of the direct contributions to his campaign committee came from donations of $200 or less. Trump's campaign spent nearly $127,000 at the president's private properties this year, including lodging and meeting fees at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., catering services at Trump Restaurants in New York, and rent to Trump Tower in New York. The Trump committee also paid nearly $1.7 million for digital consulting and online advertising services to Parscale Strategy LLC, the firm of Brad Parscale, Trump's 2020 campaign manager. Parscale was the digital director of Trump's 2016 campaign. In addition to payments from the campaign, Parscale's business also received $66,647 from the two fundraising committees and another $46,808 in consulting fees from the main super PAC supporting Trump, America First Action. In late March, the campaign paid $22,000 to John McEntee, who joined as senior adviser for campaign operations after he was forced out of his position as Trump's personal assistant earlier in the month. McEntee lost his White House job after an investigation found his gambling habits posed a security risk, The Washington Post reported.

#Draintheswamp right?

This would explain why they're constantly begging for money. When I answered one of those GOP Trump approval surveys a while ago, I signed on to the mailing list because I was curious. They beg for money once a week, constantly telling me how necessary it's going to be for him to run again in three years.

They are running the "underdog" campaign, so yeah they do kind of need funds even if I think it's scummy This is objectively worse than that though. This is using re-election funds to prevent criminal/civil inquires into misdeeds.

Yeah but uh, you see, this actually just shows how Donnie is being attacked by the corrupt leftoid deep state at every turn, he needs our support

“Remember my fellow MAGAians, 20% of every donation goes to keeping your beloved leader protected from Bias Mueller and his WITCH HUNT! Truly a bigly thanks, humble one at that, to all the men (and women!) denoting!

Democrats aren't spending a fith of it in legal fees though. At least what you spend is what you get with funding that party, not having to spend to cover up dirtly little secrets.

i really fucking hope 'MAGAians' does not enter the common english lexicon in america, for fucks sake.

MAGAts is probably a better term anyways.

I may not care much for Slipknot fans, but associating them woth trumpists via homophone is just plain cruel /s

I've just been calling them "MAGAfuckers".

Wouldn't using campaign money for legal fees unrelated to the campaign constitute embezzlement?

I'm sure one could fairly reasonably argue that campaign money for legal fees is an assumed expenses when dealing with the Trumpster fire.

Oh, yeah that's terrible sorry I misread that so bad.

"How was I supposed to know that $100 donation would be reduced to ashes?!" - dozens of Trump supporters

My father donated a bit of dough to Donald's campaign when he was first running, so I don't know whether to laugh or feel bad that there is a strong possibility that he threw said money into the proverbial legal fee furnace.