Trump group reports big legal expenses, claws money back from super PAC

By Jason Lange and Alexandra Ulmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump's legal entanglements on Monday showed signs they could impact spending on his White House bid, as one of his main political groups reported massive outlays on legal expenses while also clawing back more than $12 million it had transferred to a super PAC supporting Trump's 2024 campaign.

Trump's Save America group, which he founded in 2020 following his defeat in that year's presidential election, said in a filing to the Federal Election Commission that it spent more than $21 million on legal expenses during the first half of 2023.

The sum reported was much less than major media had expected, but still substantially higher than the more than $16 million that Save America had reported spending on legal expenses between 2020 and 2022.

The financial reports to the Federal Election Commission provide few details on the nature of Save America's legal spending, with filings describing many of the payments merely as "legal consulting."

Trump has been criminally indicted twice since leaving office in 2021, a first for a U.S. leader.

He faces dozens of federal charges in Florida over the retention of sensitive government records at his home in the state. He also faces state charges in New York following an investigation into hush money allegedly paid to an adult film star.

The Washington Post on Saturday reported that Save America had ramped up legal spending to defend Trump and his advisers, among others.

Save America largely raised money from small donors before Trump entered the 2024 presidential race and the group is formally separate from his election campaign.

But it has been a principal funder of a super PAC known as MAGA Inc, which has spent heavily on ads supporting Trump. Save America transferred some $60 million to the group in 2022, but on Monday it reported to election regulators that it got refunds of more than $12 million from MAGA Inc.

The super PAC, which is staffed by former Trump employees, submitted its own report on Monday showing it raised just over $13 million in contributions in the first six months of the year, a similar amount to the sum it returned to Save America.

Trump remains the front-runner in the Republican nomination contest. But some political donors have shunned him this year, citing doubts over his ability to beat Democratic President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election.

Among the big donors sticking with Trump were Charles Kushner, who gave MAGA Inc $1 million and whose son Jared is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka. Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets American football team, also gave $1 million, according to MAGA Inc's filing.

MAGA Inc reported having $30.8 million in the bank at the end of June. That is well below the nearly $97 million had by a super PAC backing Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, according to a separate campaign finance disclosure.

Trump's campaign reported having $22.5 million at the end of June, while DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a distant second to Trump in public opinion polls, had $12.2 million in his campaign accounts. Save America ended June with just over $3 million.

Citing anonymous sources, the Washington Post and the New York Times reported over the weekend that Save America's filing would show as much as $40 million in spending on legal expenses this year.

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco; Editing by Sonali Paul, Robert Birsel)