Donald Trump spent $4.9 million on legal fees in March and has just $6.8 million left in the accounts he used to fund his lawyers, leaving him cash-strapped as legal costs mount, according to campaign finance filings .
That’s forcing Trump, a criminal defense attorney in an ongoing trial in Manhattan, to find other sources of money to cover the rising costs of his legal battles. Trump could try to raise more money from donors, ask the Republican National Committee to cover the costs or pay the fees from his own wealth. The RNC has said it will not pay Trump’s legal fees.
So far, Trump has paid lawyers for Save America, a leadership political action committee that can accept money from political donors. Save America has spent more than $62 million on legal fees since January 2023.
Save America ended March with cash on hand of about $4 million. She may also ask Trump’s allied super PAC to refund the remaining $2.8 million in donations it received from Save America in 2022.
Trump’s legal troubles make him different from all previous candidates for the presidency. He has already been accused in three separate cases of sexual abuse, defamation and financial fraud in connection with the valuation of his assets. He also faces four other criminal charges, including two alleging he conspired to overturn the 2020 presidential election. His first criminal trial began last week on allegations that he falsified business records to conceal a hush money payment to a porn actress before the 2016 election.
Since securing the Republican nomination, Trump has sought to dent the financial advantage of President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, whose combined war chest of $192 million at the end of March is twice as large as his own. But his ongoing legal disputes continue to put a strain on his coffers.
Trump’s allied super-political action committee Make America Great Again Inc. has raised $14 million and spent $6.3 million, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings. Campaign finance laws prohibit this group from directly funding Trump’s bills.
Linda McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration during the first two years of Trump’s term, donated $5 million to MAGA Inc., while real estate and aerospace entrepreneur Robert Bigelow donated $4.2 million. The super PAC also received $50,000 from a local PAC of the International Brotherhood Electrical Workers union in New Jersey.