A defense fund meant to help former President Donald Trump’s employees and associates who have been caught up in 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 largest expenditure by the Patriot Legal Defense Fund appears to have been a big hit at the 77-year-old Mar-a-Lago resort late last month, according to an IRS filing obtained by The Post Wednesday.
In total, the fund has disbursed just $28,578 after raising $1,624,360 since its inception on July 18.
The Daily Beast first reported the filing.
Aside from a mysterious $18,136 outlay for a Mar-a-Lago “banquet” on Nov. 27, the remaining expenses include bank, consulting, accounting and credit card fees, as well as $542 in “travel expenses” paid to a New Jersey-based consulting firm.
The Mar-a-Lago Club, home of former US President Donald Trump, is seen on April 4, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida. AFP via Getty Images
The fund’s mission, according to its website, is “to finance the legal defense of peaceful and innocent Americans targeted for malicious prosecution by the out-of-control Biden administration.”
Trump’s own legal expenses are the purview of Save America PAC, which has paid about $37 million to dozens of firms since January 2022, the Associated Press reported in October.
The former commander-in-chief now faces four charges accusing him of falsifying business records while paying hush money to two women ahead of the 2016 election, illegally retaining national security documents after leaving office, trying to nullify the 2020 election and trying to reverse his election loss in Georgia.
Caryn and Michael Borland next to Donald Trump. Michael Borland/Facebook
“I have $100 million worth of legal fees,” Trump said in Sioux City, Iowa last October. “And they do good. At least I had a good lawyer, because you can spend $100 million and have a bad lawyer too. It happen.”
The largest donor to the Patriot Legal Defense Fund since its inception has been the Caryn L. Hildenbrand Living Trust, which contributed $1 million in early November.
The trust is owned by Caryn and Michael Borland, who gave $1 million to Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign after a fundraiser they were supposed to host was canceled because of their belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory.
A representative for the fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
