Business Insider disclosed on Tuesday that a political fundraising committee closely associated with former President Donald Trump has allocated a substantial sum of $2.3 million towards covering the legal expenses of his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump. This revelation emerged from a detailed examination of the records submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
The committee in question, known as Save America PAC, is reported to have disbursed this amount in 2023 for the services of two law firms that represented Ivanka Trump. In addition to this, the PAC has also expended an extra $5.3 million on another law firm, Robert & Robert, which has been providing legal representation to Trump’s three eldest offspring—Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr.—along with the Trump Organization itself.
This legal support extends across a variety of lawsuits, many of which do not seem directly linked to Trump’s aspirations to reclaim the presidency in the upcoming 2024 election. Save America PAC was initiated by Trump shortly following his defeat in the 2020 presidential race. It has since become his principal fundraising mechanism. Trump frequently utilizes this platform to disseminate misleading assertions about the 2020 election and his ongoing legal challenges, aiming to persuade supporters to contribute financially.
A significant portion of the legal funds has been directed towards Ivanka Trump’s defense in a civil fraud trial. This trial accuses Donald Trump and his adult children of engaging in systematic fraud by manipulating property valuations to secure more favorable conditions for taxes and loans. In this legal battle, New York Attorney General Letitia James is pushing for $370 million in penalties and the dissolution of the Trump Organization.
“Trump founded Save America shortly after he lost the 2020 presidential election,” noted the report. “He’s used it as his primary fundraising vehicle, often sending out messages making false claims about the 2020 election and his legal problems to convince donors to give it money.”
The final decision in this case is expected to be delivered by Judge Arthur Engoron later in the month. Interestingly, Ivanka Trump is no longer a defendant in this particular case. A court determined that her involvement with the Trump Organization was beyond the statute of limitations, exempting her from the ongoing legal proceedings.
The utilization of Save America PAC’s funds has drawn criticism and raised ethical questions. Robert Maguire, the research director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), highlighted the controversial nature of the PAC’s fundraising methods.
In 2020, Trump managed to raise tens of millions of dollars through unfounded allegations of electoral fraud, branding the PAC as an ‘Official Election Defense Fund.’ Since then, according to Maguire, the committee has largely morphed into a means for defraying legal expenses for Trump, his family, and associates, while also funneling significant amounts to a super PAC supportive of Trump.
