The Republican National Committee is helping former President Donald Trump pay certain legal fees related to New York state’s investigation into his real estate dealings.
The RNC paid over $120,000 to defense attorney Ronald Fischetti, whom Trump hired in the spring to represent him while the Manhattan district attorney and the New York attorney general investigate his business. A source within the RNC told the Washington Post that Trump requested the committee pay for the fees this summer, and they were recently approved.
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“As a leader of our party, defending President Trump and his record of achievement is critical to the GOP,” the party told the Washington Examiner in a statement. “It is entirely appropriate for the RNC to continue assisting in fighting back against the Democrats’ never-ending witch hunt and attacks on him.”
A spokesman for Trump also said the RNC has an interest in defending Trump from “witch hunts.”
“The Democrats have become obsessed with weaponizing their offices against President Trump, which is a complete abandonment of their Constitutional obligations,” he said.
While the Trump Organization, Trump Payroll, and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg pleaded not guilty in July to a 15-year tax fraud scheme, Trump himself was not implicated in what prosecutors termed a “sweeping and audacious” effort to avoid taxes.
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The RNC also paid for some of Donald Trump Jr.’s legal fees during the Russian collusion investigation. The organization was faulted but not penalized by the Federal Elections Commission for lawyers involved in election recounts.
Trump’s office did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
