The Biden campaign is defending the nearly $2 million in payments after frequently criticizing Trump for using donor funds to cover legal costs.
Topline
The Democratic National Committee used nearly $2 million to pay lawyers who represented President Joe Biden in the recent special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents — a revelation that comes after Biden campaign attacked former President Donald Trump for using tens of millions in donor money to pay his mounting legal bills.Key Facts
Federal Election Commission data shows multiple payments totalling $1.05 million to Bob Bauer LLC between July 2023 and February 2024, as well as multiple $100,000 payments to law firm Hemenway & Barnes that began around July 2023—both legal entities were reportedly part of Biden’s legal team during the special counsel probe, which began in January 2023.
While the disclosures do not show how much money went specifically toward the special counsel investigation, Axios, the first to report on the disclosures, cited two sources familiar with the matter and reported at least $1.5 million went toward defending the probe—multiple media outlets subsequently confirmed payments went toward Biden’s legal defense during the probe.
The payments are legal, and are significantly less than the donated funds Trump has used to pay his legal fees amid multiple criminal and civil cases—since the start of 2023, Trump’s Save America PAC has spent some $51.
