$180K raised for Trump associates’ legal fund in second quarter

A legal fund set up to assist President Trump’s allies implicated in the Russia investigation raised $180,000 in the second quarter of 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. 

The Journal, citing tax filings from the Patriot Legal Expense Fund Trust, reported that all but $5,000 of the donations from April to June came from three top Trump donors. 

{mosads}The filing provided the first disclosures on who is donating to the legal defense fund, and how much the fund has received since it was started in February.

Geoffrey Palmer, a longtime Trump ally and real estate developer, donated $10,000, while casino owner Phil Ruffin donated $50,000.

Continental Resources Inc., which is owned by Trump adviser Harold Hamm, gave another $25,000, according to the Journal. 

The remaining donors did not contribute enough to require they be identified.

The tax filing does not disclose which associates, if any, have received assistance from the fund, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The president’s campaign established the Patriot Legal Expense Fund Trust earlier this year to accept donations and distribute funds to Trump allies caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference.

Funds cannot be used for the president or his family members, and the fund will not provide money to an individual who has been charged with or admitted to a crime.

Democratic lawmakers previously expressed concerns that because the fund does not disclose who receives its money or how much they get, it could easily be abused or mismanaged.

Mueller has thus far indicted or received guilty pleas from four former Trump associates. Former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, the lone associate not to strike a plea deal, is currently on trial for alleged financial crimes.

Trump’s legal team is in ongoing negotiations with Mueller about a potential interview with the president.

Trump frequently derides Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt” and a “hoax,” and last week he called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put an end to the probe.