The Republican Party has authorized at least $1.6 million to go towards Donald Trump’s legal defense in New York, where prosecutors are probing his company for potential tax violations and other financial improprieties, according to The Washington Post.
That figure is 10 times larger than previously known.
Campaign finance experts told the outlet that there’s “nothing illegal” about the arrangement, but the Post adds:
Still, paying Trump’s legal bills is a highly unusual move, longtime party observers and members say, because the spending has nothing to do with promoting the GOP’s policy agenda or political priorities, dealing with ongoing party business or campaigning— and relates to investigations that are not about Trump’s time as president or his work in the White House.
Paul Seamus Ryan, a campaign-law expert at Common Cause, told the Post, “This is an abuse of donor trust. I’ve been following money in politics closely for more than two decades, and I’m unaware of any similar past abuse of donor trust and donor money to pay personal legal bills of private citizens.”
The GOP’s generosity to Trump is particularly confounding because he has vast resources. Trump’s net worth is $2.5 billion according to Forbes. He raised $82 million dollars in the first half of 2021 alone and has at least $102 million in various PACs.
A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee defended their decision, which was approved by the organization’s executive committee over the summer. “As a leader of our party, defending President Trump and his record of achievement is critical to the GOP. It is entirely appropriate for the RNC to continue assisting in fighting back against the Democrats’ never ending witch hunt and attacks on him,” said Emma Vaughn.
The New York Times adds key analysis:
…the payments showed Mr. Trump’s enduring hold on the party he led for four years in the White House. The party continues to lean heavily on his name and popularity in its online fund-raising appeals. He is a lure for major donors as well, and headlined the National Republican Congressional Committee’s fall fund-raiser last month in Florida.
Daron Shaw, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin and a former strategist for George W. Bush’s 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns, said the payments pointed to Mr. Trump’s “total command of the party apparatus.”
“Organizationally, the Republican Party is still a wholly owned subsidiary of Donald Trump for president,” Professor Shaw said. “Until the next heir to the throne is apparent, he’s still the king.”
Earlier this year, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said she was neutral about the candidates vying for the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
“She’s neutral like I’m neutral,” Trump later said.
