President Joe Biden received some help with his legal expenses as he faced a special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents, according to a new report.
On Friday, Axios published a report that stated, āPresident Biden usedĀ campaign donationsĀ to help pay his legal bills last year during theĀ special counselās probeĀ into his handling of classified documents, according to two people familiar with the matter and an Axios review of campaign finance records.ā
āThe payments, made through the Democratic National Committee, are at odds with the Biden campaignās recent attacks onĀ Donald Trump for spending his campaign fundsĀ on legal fees,ā it added.
According to the outlet, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) āpaid more than $1.5 million to lawyers or firms representingĀ BidenĀ during the probe, according to the committeeās financial filings.ā
Despite having the DNC help cover legal expenses, Bidenās campaign has been attacking former President Donald Trump for using campaign donations to help cover his own legal fees.
Biden campaign finance chair Rufus Gifford declared on MSNBC earlier this month, āEvery single time you give to the campaign, weāre going straight to talk to voters, with 100 offices open in swing states, hundreds of thousands of calls to voters. We are not spending money on legal bills or hawking gold sneakers.ā
In a statement to Axios, DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd insisted the comparison between Biden and Trump was not valid, āThere is no comparison ā the DNC does not spend a single penny of grassroots donorsā money on legal bills ā unlike Donald Trump, who actively solicits legal fees from his supporters and has drawn down every bank account he can get his hands on, like a personal piggy bank.ā
According to a tally from The New York Times, Trump has spent at least $100 million on legal expenses since he left office in 2021. It noted his Save America PAC has been using donations to pay his legal expenses.
It also pointed out, āThe Trump team has said the Republican National Committee wonāt pay his legal bills. ButĀ his new shared fund-raising agreementĀ with the party directs a portion of donations to his Save America PAC before the party itself.ā
