Watchdog probes Trump campaign on legal payees
A complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission alleges Donald Trump’s 2024 White House campaign and its related political committees engaged in a scheme to conceal who is being paid for much of the former president’s legal work in a possible violation of federal law.
The complaint filed Wednesday by the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit government watchdog, centers on a company called Red Curve Solutions, which allegedly received $7.2 million from Trump’s campaign and four other related political committees between Dec. 7, 2022, and March 18, 2024, according to a CLC news release.
Red Curve Solutions helps political campaigns with a range of services, including “comprehensive budgeting, accounting and financial management and compliance services,” according to the company’s LinkedIn page.
Campaigns often pay outside organizations to manage polling, consulting or other needs. The Campaign Legal Center said in its Wednesday release that virtually all of the payments from Trump’s campaign and committees are described as “Reimbursement for Legal Fees” or “Reimbursement for Legal Expenses.”
However, Red Curve “does not appear to offer any legal services,” CLC notes, while pointing out that Red Curve is managed by Bradley Crate, the same individual who serves as the treasurer for Trump’s campaign and the four other committees.
“The arrangement seems designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump’s legal bills and, in doing so, seems to violate federal law,” the organization stated.
“Red Curve appears to have been fronting legal costs for Trump since at least December 2022, with Trump-affiliated committees repaying the company later,” CLC says in the release. “This arrangement appears to violate FEC rules that require campaigns to disclose not only the entity being reimbursed (here, Red Curve) but also the underlying vendor.”
This kind of arrangement would prohibit the public from knowing which law firms are being paid for much of Trump’s legal work and how much, CLC argues, and also may violate a federal prohibition on corporate political contributions.
Also named in the complaint are the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, the Save America leadership committee, Trump Make America Great Again Committee and Make America Great Again PAC.
Campaign finance experts have raised questions about Trump’s use of campaign funds to pay his extensive legal bills. Save America has spent $76 million on legal fees, according to a USA TODAY analysis.
Trump’s campaign also has been funneling money into his businesses at a time when he’s under serious legal scrutiny and needs cash as he’s facing major judgments in civil lawsuits and four separate criminal cases.
Trump posted a $91.6 million bond in a defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll, and a $175 million bond in a fraud case involving falsifying business records.