Save America PAC pays $3 million to Trump lawyer
By Kara Scannell and Paul LeBlanc, CNN
The Save America PAC has advanced former President Donald Trump’s attorney Chris Kise $3 million in an upfront payment to cover his legal fees, a person familiar with the arrangement told CNN.
Kise, a former Florida solicitor general, joined Trump’s legal team last month to help the former President as he waged a court battle following the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence and resort.
The addition of Kise was viewed as a significant boost to Trump’s legal team. The former President has had difficulty finding high-caliber lawyers to represent him given his history of stiffing attorneys and business partners and not following legal advice.
It took two weeks before Trump’s lawyers formally waded into the legal fight over the search warrant, despite publicly calling for the warrant and affidavit to be unsealed. And when they finally did, their motion had numerous legal flaws and drew criticism from legal experts on both sides of the aisle.
Kise left law firm Foley & Lardner, where he had worked for over a decade, to take on the assignment.
Politico first reported the $3 million payment.
Trump has previously used the PAC, which was formed days after the 2020 presidential election, to cover some of his legal fees.
The former President’s legal troubles have only grown as the Justice Department has launched a wide ranking investigation into the election. In the past week, the DOJ sent more than 30 subpoenas to people associated with Trump, the campaign and post-election efforts.
Some of the subpoenas, including one reviewed by CNN, were broad in scope, seeking information on a range of issues, including the fake elector scheme, Trump’s primary fundraising and political vehicle, Save America PAC, the organizing of the Trump rally on January 6, and any communications with a broad list of people who worked to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said he does not expect to be indicted.
A source close to the former President previously told CNN that Trump has posed questions about a potential indictment to members of his inner circle.
Another adviser acknowledged that while Trump has certainly been in legal peril before, including while he was president, this seems different and potentially more dangerous, particularly because he no longer has the legal protections afforded to the executive office.
The-CNN-Wire
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