U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign raised more than $10.1 million in the third quarter of 2017 and spent $4 million, including $1.1 million on legal fees.
Trump’s campaign paid $237,924 to lawyer Alan Futerfas, who is representing Donald Trump Jr. in matters related to the campaign’s involvement with Russian interference in the U.S. election.
That payment came in addition to $50,000 paid the previous quarter to the same lawyer. Futerfas has not responded to repeated requests for comment about the payment.
The campaign also paid $30,000 to Williams and Jensen, the law firm where Karina Lynch, who is also representing Trump Jr., works. Lynch did not respond to request for comment about the payment.
During the third quarter, Trump’s campaign paid more than $25,000 to his own company for “legal consulting,” as well as $800,000 to law firm Jones Day, which provides routine legal assistance to the campaign.
Trump filed for re-election the day he took office – allowing his campaign to continue to raise and spend money while he is in office. Traditionally, presidents have waited two years to officially file for reelection, providing no historic comparisons to his level of fundraising and spending.
His campaign has raised more than $36 million since January.
He has used that money to keep a small campaign staff, to fund campaign rallies and to pay legal fees associated with some of the investigations into his 2016 campaign.
Trump’s campaign spent about $4 million in that same time period. In the second quarter of 2017, Trump’s re-election campaign raised about $8 million and spent $4.4 million.
Of the donations, $1.2 million consisted of unitemized contributions, meaning money from donors who gave less than $200. Trump frequently touts the level of unitemized donations as proof that voters still support his campaign. He raised about $1.9 million in unitemized contributions during the previous quarter.
Source: Reuters
