RNC Will Not Pay for Trump's Legal Fees If He Runs for POTUS

It has been widely suspected that Trump will announce his bid for the 2024 Presidential election sometime after the midterms.

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told CNN that the committee cannot pay for former US President Donald Trump’s legal defense if he announces a run for President in 2024.

The RNC confirmed last year that it was paying for some of Trump’s legal costs for cases that it determined to be “politically motivated legal proceedings” against the former President.

It has recently funded the defense of the Trump Organization in two cases in New York. The two cases, one civil and one criminal, are related to the Organization allegedly misrepresenting the value of properties to gain more favorable loans and better tax rates. The day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization have been run by Trump’s children since 2016 after Trump was elected President.

The criminal case went to trial last week and also alleges that the company did not pay taxes on perks provided to top executives, including cars and apartments in New York City. Allen Weisselberg, the former Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization, pleaded guilty in August to 15 felony counts for evading taxes and has agreed to testify against the Trump Organization as part of his plea agreement.

While speaking to US journalist Dana Bash on Sunday, McDaniel said that the RNC will be prohibited from funding the legal defense of anyone who is a declared candidate.

“We cannot pay legal bills for any candidate that’s announced. So these are bills that came from the [New York Attorney General] Letitia James lawsuit that started while he was president,” McDaniel said. “But we cannot do in kind contributions to any candidate right now.”

She also noted that Trump has “certainly” raised more money under the RNC than they have provided for his legal bills. She insisted that she does not know if Trump will run in 2024.

On Friday, another US media outlet reported that Trump’s team is eyeing November 14 as a possible launch date for his campaign.

Trump’s variety of legal issues will not be settled by that time and will likely stretch into 2023 at least. In addition to the two cases in New York, the Department of Justice is also investigating the Former President’s handling of classified documents stored at his Mar-a-Lago estate. In August, the FBI seized over 11,000 documents from the Florida mansion, including some that were labeled classified and top secret.

Prosecutors in Georgia are also looking into attempts to overturn the 2020 Presidential election in that state by Trump and his allies. It is not known if Trump is a target of that investigation but he may be called to testify. Several close allies to Trump have already been called to testify, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who prosecutors have said is a target of the investigation.

The House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 Attack on the Capitol is also looking into Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to prevent Joe Biden’s confirmation by Congress as the next President of the United States. That committee cannot criminally charge Trump, but they may recommend that the Department of Justice charge him. The Justice Department is conducting its own criminal investigation into the events that day, but they have not revealed much about the investigation and it is not known if Trump is a target.

McDaniel also stated that Republican candidates should accept election results in Tuesday’s elections after “the process [of recounts] plays out” and welcomed the possibility of President Biden reaching across the aisle, should Republicans take control of Congress.