According to reports released by POLITICO on Tuesday (August 30), a source revealed former President Donald Trump’s legal fees relating to the FBI Mar-a-Lago Raid wouldn’t be covered by the Republican National Committee.
So far, Trump’s legal woes have been footed by the RNC, but that is set to end with the legal fees relating to the FBI’s investigation and seizure of records from his Mar-a-Lago residence, a source revealed to POLITICO.
The source revealed that Trump would be responsible for paying the legal bill of Chris Kise, Florida’s former solicitor general, who Trump hired to represent him in the criminal investigation stemming from the FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago home.
This is a stark contrast from the RNC’s previous willingness to cover legal costs, spending $2 million from October 2021 to July of this year, associated with several of Trump’s legal troubles.
One example of the Committee’s willingness to cover the costs of Trump’s legal costs emerged when the RNC agreed to pay $1.6 million for Trump’s attorney bills last December, which included representation in the investigation by the New York Attorney General into Trump’s business dealings.
A filing to the Federal Election Committee (FEC) also shows another $50,000 toward Trump’s legal costs being made as recently as June.
The decision to deny covering Trump’s legal costs comes as the former President continues to tease a third Presidential bid, which the RNC has made clear should he formally announce a 2024 bid, they would stop covering Trump’s legal costs.
The source hadn’t revealed why the RNC would not be supporting Trump’s legal costs associated with the FBI raid, and when contacted for comment, the RNC failed to respond.
