Allies and supporters of former President Donald Trump who were indicted in Georgia last month over their attempt to overturn the 2020 election are fighting to stay ahead of their bill — turning to crowdfunding websites, legal defense funds and even members of Congress.
Former Trump attorneys John Eastman and Jenna Ellis, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and former Coffee County Republican Party Chairwoman Cathy Latham have all launched fundraising efforts on GiveSendGo since they were indicted Aug. 14 by a Fulton County grand jury.
Eastman, who urged former Vice President Mike Pence to confirm Joe Biden’s victory and claims that 72,000 people voted illegally in the Peach State, had raised $519,035 as of Friday afternoon — the most of any crowdfunding co-defendant.
Ellis, who is currently endorsing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has raised $189,382, while Clark has raised $58,059 and Latham has raised $15,899.
Former New York mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani has launched his own legal defense fund, for which the former president is hosting a $100,000-per-ticket event at his golf resort in Bedminster, NJ next week.
Former President Donald Trump’s co-defendants charged in Georgia over their attempt to subvert the 2020 election are struggling to pay legal bills and turning to crowdfunding websites, defense funds and members of Congress.AP
Former Trump attorney John Eastman has launched a legal defense fund on GiveSendGo since his August 14 indictment. FULTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/AFP via Getty Images
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) too brainstorm ideas set up a fund to help pay legal fees for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, a former Republican congressman from North Carolina, but did not provide further details.
Trump, 77, agreed to cover legal fees for aides, advisers and other employees related to separate congressional and federal investigations into his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the hiding of national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
He has not promised to bail out any of the Georgia co-defendants, telling Newsmax in a recent interview that he doesn’t know “a lot of these people” and “they don’t have a lot of money.”
Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, who is currently supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the 2024 Republican nomination, has raised $189,382 for her legal defense. FULTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/AFP via Getty Images
The former eldest son of Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump launched the Patriot Legal Defense Fund in July to cover their father’s costs, some of which may be transferred to 18 other co-defendants, according to sources who spoke to CNN — which first reported on the co-defendants’ financial issues.
However, Ellis posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he had been “definitely informed Trump did not fund any of us as alleged.”
Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark has collected $58,059 for his legal defense.AP
Ellis was responding to a post from Conservative Political Action Committee chairman Matt Schlapp, who urged Republican voters to rally around Trump’s candidacy and pay his legal costs.
“I don’t think he’s going to be at the top of Trump’s list anyway (to help with the legal bill),” a source close to Trump told CNN’s Ellis.
Eastman, Ellis, Clark, Latham, Giuliani and Meadows were all indicted last month along with Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell – both of whom had asked to have their cases dismissed from the former president in a speedy trial.
Former Coffee County GOP Chairwoman Cathy Latham has earned $15,899 for her own legal defense. FULTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE/AFP via Getty Images
On Thursday, Trump’s legal team also petitioned for separate proceedings, citing time constraints to present a proper defense if their clients go to trial with Chesebro and Powell in late October.
Trump attorney Ray Smith, 2020 campaign aide Mike Roman, former Kanye West publicist Trevian Kutti, Illinois pastor Stephen Lee, Georgia attorney Robert Cheeley, bail bondsman Scott Hall, former Georgia GOP chairman David Shafer and Georgia state Senator Shawn Still were also charged.
Former Black Voices for Trump executive director Harrison Floyd served several days in the Fulton County Jail after being indicted on the same charge, but has since obtained a lawyer and was released on $100,000 bond Wednesday, records show.
All 19 co-defendants were booked in Fulton County after the 41-count indictment was unsealed in court last month.GNMiller/NYPost
In total, the 19 defendants face 41 charges, including racketeering, conspiracy, making false statements and soliciting public officials to violate their oath of office.
The former president was booked and released on $200,000 bond on August 24 after being photographed by Fulton County authorities.
Trump later tweeted the image, posting it for the first time to his former Twitter handle since he was fired from the platform two days after the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
The former president has spent more than $40 million on legal fees after being indicted in three cases — two federal and one municipal — earlier this year.AP
Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to all charges, waiving his right to a personal trial that had been scheduled for Sept. 6.
The former president’s Save America Political Action Committee shelled out more than $21 million in legal fees during the first six months of the year, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
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