By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s political team that pays his legal bills on Saturday reported spending $3.6 million on legal fees in February, draining finances to support Trump’s White House bid as the Republican followed President Joe Biden in fundraising.
Trump is facing four criminal trials — including one that began this week — as he mounts a costly campaign to challenge Biden, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
Trump’s Save America group, which reported spending to the Federal Election Commission, is spending money largely raised from small donors, although available funds may be dwindling.
The group, which is separate from Trump’s campaign but was his largest fundraising group before he announced his candidacy, reported raising just over $10,000 from donors in March.
It was able to cover the expense by getting a refund of $5 million in money previously donated to a super PAC supporting Trump’s campaign known as MAGA Inc.
Save America has now recouped more than $52 million of the $60 million it previously donated to MAGA Inc, significantly reducing the amount of money MAGA Inc has available for TV ads supporting Trump.
While Save America has not disclosed details of how much it has spent on each of Trump’s legal cases, its records show that since the start of 2023 it has spent more than $59 million on legal fees.
Trump was in court this week as a defendant on charges of falsifying business records to hide cash payments to a pornography company.
The three other pending criminal trials involve his efforts to overturn his defeat to Biden in the 2020 presidential election and allegations that he mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021. Trump is also appealing a fraud conviction $454 million civil suit, a threat to his personal finances.
Trump’s political operation also faces monetary challenges, as filings with the Federal Election Commission have shown.
His campaign reported raising $15 million in March, up from about $11 million in February, but not enough to make up financial ground with Biden, who has had a persistent lead in fundraising.
Biden’s campaign raised more than $43 million in March and ended the month with $85 million in the bank. Trump’s campaign said it ended the month with $45 million in cash.
Public opinion polls show the two are locked in a tight race.
Campaign contributions pay for advertising, staff and events but do not determine the winner. Trump was overwhelmed in 2016 by Democrat Hillary Clinton and still beat her in that year’s presidential election.
While fundraising among small donors appears to have faded, Trump has held fundraising events in recent weeks to woo big donors, helping the Republican Party raise more than $20 million in March, nearly double what it raised a month earlier, the party reported. Saturday.
MAGA Inc, the super PAC supporting Trump’s candidacy, reported having $33 million in the bank at the end of March, while Future Forward, the main Democratic super PAC supporting Biden, reported having more than $41 million .