A defense fund aimed at helping 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 Patriot Legal Defense Fund’s largest expense appears to have been a big party at the 77-year-old Mar-a-Lago resort late last month, according to IRS documents obtained by The Post on Wednesday.
In total, the fund has disbursed just $28,578 after raising $1,624,360 since its formation on July 18.
The Daily Beast first reported on the filings.
Aside from the mysterious $18,136 expense at the Mar-a-Lago “banquet venue” on Nov. 27, the remaining expenses include bank, consulting, accounting and credit card fees, as well as a “travel expense” of $542 paid to a New Jersey resident. consulting company based in
The Mar-a-Lago Club, home of former US President Donald Trump, seen on April 4, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida. AFP via Getty Images
The fund’s mission, according to its website, is to “fund the legal defense of peaceful and innocent Americans targeted by malicious prosecution by the out-of-control Biden administration.”
Trump’s own legal expenses fall under the purview of the Save America PAC, which has paid approximately $37 million to dozens of companies since January 2022, the Associated Press reported in October.
The former commander in chief is currently facing four indictments accusing him of falsifying business records while paying hush money to two women before the 2016 election, illegally withholding national security documents after leaving office, attempting to overturn the 2020 election, and attempting reverse his electoral defeat in Georgia.
Caryn and Michael Borland with Donald Trump. Michael Borland/Facebook
“I have $100 million in legal fees,” Trump said in Sioux City, Iowa, last October. “And they are doing it well. At least I have good lawyers, because you can spend 100 million dollars and have lousy lawyers too. Happens.”
The Patriot Legal Defense Fund’s largest donor since its inception is the Caryn L. Hildenbrand Living Trust, which contributed $1 million in early November.
The trust is owned by Caryn and Michael Borland, who donated $1 million to Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign after a fundraiser they were supposed 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.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn