President Donald Trump is pledging to spend at least $430,000 from his own personal funds to help campaign associates and White House staff with their legal bills as the investigations proceed into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, according to a White House official.
The amount is about the same as the Republican National Committee has spent for the attorneys representing Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., Axios reported on Saturday.
The unnamed source, however, said that Trump is not using the payment to reimburse the RNC.
"We're working on appropriate legal and ethical approval," the official told Axios, while not answering questions about how the money will be disbursed or if the White House plans to pay the more expensive legal fees for key aides, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort.
The official also did not address whether the RNC will continue to pay for legal bills for Trump or his family members, or why he isn't reimbursing the RNC. However, the official told Axios that Trump may spend more of his own money on the staff defense expenses in the future.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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