Sitting on defen$e
Unspent $1.6M in legal fund for Trump minions
A defense fund meant to aid employees and associates of former President Donald Trump who have been caught up in the legal cases against him has raised more than $1.6 million in its nearly five months of existence — but none of that money has been spent on legal fees.
In fact, the largest expenditure by the Patriot Legal Defense Fund appears to have been in service of a large bash at the 77year-old ex-president’s Mar-a-Lago resort late last month, according to IRS filings obtained Wednesday by The Post.
In total, the fund has shelled out just $28,578 after raising $1,624,360 since its formation July 18. The Daily Beast first reported on the filings.
Apart from the mysterious $18,136 spend on Mar-a-Lago’s Nov. 27 “banquet venue,” expenditures include bank, consulting, accounting, and credit card fees, as well as a $542 “travel expense” paid to a New Jerseybased consulting firm.
Don’s own war chest
The mission of the fund, per its website, is “to fund the legal defense for peaceful, innocent Americans targeted for malicious prosecution by the out-ofcontrol Biden administration.”
Legal expenses for Trump himself are the purview of the Save America PAC, which has paid approximately $37 million to dozens of firms since January of 2022, The Associated Press reported in October.
‘$100M of legal fees’
The former commander in chief is currently facing four indictments accusing him of falsifying business records while paying hush money to two women ahead of the 2016 election, unlawfully retaining national security documents after leaving office, attempting to overturn the 2020 election and trying to reverse his election loss in Georgia.
“I have $100 million worth of legal fees,” Trump said in Sioux City, Iowa, this past October. “And they’re doing good. At least I have good lawyers, because you can spend $100 million and have lousy lawyers too. It happens.”
The largest donor to the Patriot Legal Defense Fund since its creation is the Caryn L. Hildenbrand Living Trust, which contributed $1 million in early November.
The trust is owned by Caryn and Michael Borland, who gave $1 million to Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign after a fundraiser they were due to host was canceled due to their belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory.
A representative for the fund did not immediately respond to requests for comment.