Trump committees spent nearly $30 million on legal costs in second half of 2023

by Brett Samuels - 01/31/24 11:17 PM ET

AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool
Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom before the start of closing arguments in his civil business fraud trial at New York Supreme Court, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in New York.

Former President Trump’s fundraising committees spent nearly $30 million in legal fees during the second half of 2023, a staggering sum that reflected the financial strain his political operation is under as he faces several legal battles.

Federal election filings posted Wednesday showed Trump’s various political committees spent about $29 million on lawyers fees and legal consulting in the final six months of last year. The spending was spread across multiple political action committees.

Save America, which is Trump’s main joint fundraising committee with his campaign, spent more than $25 million on legal fees, while Make America Great Again PAC spent about $4 million on legal fees, according to filings.

Trump’s committees spent about $21 million on legal fees in the first half of 2023, bringing his total spending in the area to roughly $50 million for the full year.

Trump’s various committees spent roughly $210 million over the entirety of 2023 while raising just under $200 million, according to Politico.

Aside from Trump’s fundraising committees, his campaign reported Wednesday raising $19 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, with $33 million in cash on hand at the end of the year. The sum easily outpaces his lone remaining Republican rival, Nikki Haley.

But the spending on legal fees is set to continue into 2024, even as Trump appears to be on a glidepath to the GOP nomination. Trump is facing 91 felony counts across four separate cases in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Georgia; and Florida.

Trump is also planning to appeal a jury’s ruling that he pay $83 million to writer E. Jean Carroll in a defamation lawsuit.

2024 Election Coverage

President Biden’s campaign, meanwhile, has assembled a formidable war chest to take on Trump in a likely November rematch of the 2020 election.

The Biden campaign entered 2024 with $117 million on hand, after raising more than $97 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“While Donald Trump lights money on fire paying the tab on his various…expenses, Team Biden Harris, powered by grassroots donors, is hard at work talking to the voters who will decide this election and building the campaign infrastructure to win in November,” Biden campaign spokesperson TJ Ducklo said in a statement to The Hill.

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