Donald Trump reportedly spent $50 million in donor money on legal bills and investigation-related expenses last year.
The exact figure will be reported Wednesday in new filings to the Federal Election Commission. The report is expected to show the former president heading toward the Republican nomination while facing enormous financial strain following his indictment in four separate cases.
According to the New York Times, Trump has been using funds in his Save America political action committee to underwrite his legal bills. The report claims Trump has been funneling 10 percent of donations raised online to his PAC, or 10 cents of every dollar he's received from supporters.
The Trump campaign did not comment on the report.
Trump's last remaining rival in the 2024 Republican primary, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, wasted no time taking a swing at the former president after The Times first reported on the spending.
"Another reason Donald Trump won't debate me: His PAC spent 50 MILLION in campaign dollars on his legal fees," Haley posted on X Tuesday evening. "He can't beat Joe Biden if he's spending all his time and money on court cases and chaos."
Trump is currently facing a total of 91 felony counts across four separate criminal cases: one involving alleged hush money payments he made to a porn actress in 2016, one involving his handling of classified documents after his presidency, and two for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The charges carry a combined maximum prison term of to 712 years and six months.
He has also been tangled in a legal battle with columnist E. Jean Carroll. Last week, a judge ordered Trump pay Carroll a total of $83.3 million in damages for defamation.
Last May, another jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse in a trial addressing Carroll's claim that he assaulted her in a New York City department store in 1996, and later defamed her by saying she made it up. Trump is appealing that $5 million award.
The latest verdict is the result of a defamation trial, which addressed things the former president said about Carroll while in office. Trump continued to insist he was falsely accused, and called Carroll a liar.
