Donating to the RNC? You Could Be Paying for Trump’s Legal Fees

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chief Strategist & Communications Director Sean Spicer appears at a post-election press briefing to discuss the RNC’s role in the election, at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

EDITOR’S CORRECTION: When a person gives money to the RNC, that money is apportioned in blocks based on milestone amounts. For example, the first dollar, and the $33,899 after it that a person donates, go into the RNC general operating fund. That does normal things related to electoral politics. After that amount is met, money is allocated to three funds (Convention, Headquarters, and Legal Proceedings) into which a person can donate up to $101,700 apiece. It is that third fund, typically only contributed to by someone who has already filled up the others, which is the fund in the article below, and which is being used for President Trump’s legal fees. Therefore, I have struck the headline which indicates that a you, potentially a small donor, might be contributing to Trump’s legal fees. I also struck “large and small” in one sentence below. – Caleb.

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When giving money to any organization, particularly with a political arm, one can be sure that some of the money will be used for causes other than what might be hoped for or assumed. Of, course, that’s the gamble when donating money anywhere.

It was reported last month that the Republican National Committee is tapping into their legal fund to pay for legal costs of the President and his son, Donald Trump, Jr., over the Russia probe.

This money is typically set aside for various legal matters, particularly election recounts and other issues in the purview of the Party. And, apparently, that now includes paying for the fallout of the Republican nominee, a) not being able to keep his mouth shut and thereby creating a bigger legal problem for himself, and b) his doofus son taking a meeting with a proxy for a Russian oligarch.

Now, we learn from Axios, who confirmed with the RNC, the Trump’s will not be reimbursing the GOP for covering the legal bills up front.

Trump instead has promised to cover up to $430, 000 — roughly the amount the RNC paid out for Tweedledee and Tweedledum — of his staff’s incurred legal fees stemming from the probe.

Well, that’s nice. Particularly considering it was the Trump campaign involving itself with the Russians and having guys like Paul Manafort and Mike Flynn in their inner circle regardless of how short their tenure was. It should be noted Flynn will not be the recipient of any of this money, according to Axios’s Jonathan Swan.

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As Politico reported earlier this year, legal costs for lower level staffers could very well bankrupt many personally. And why? Because their boss can’t shut his trap or log off Twitter long enough to think about what he’s saying or who he could be implicating unnecessarily.

Trump also hasn’t set a cap on how much he’ll help pay for staffer’s legal fees, which is good because $430,000 could be eaten up quick if Robert Mueller’s probe continues to widen its net.

It’s a very decent gesture from self-reported billionaire Trump to establish a legal fund for staffers caught in the crosshairs of his Russian problem. However, it’s definitely worth keeping in mind where the amount of $430,000 came from.

The RNC spent hundreds of thousands of their legal fund, gathered over the years in donations large and small from Americans who wanted to see a party well-prepared to push back against Democrats, not pay the legal fees of a billionaire who idiotically thought he could flirt with the Russians and not face consequences.

There are plenty of better places to donate your political dollars if this is how the RNC is choosing to spend theirs.

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