Like a rich parent threatening to cut you off, the Republican National Committee is warning Donald Trump that if he decides to run for president in 2024, they will stop all payments to the various law firms that are representing the former president in matters both personal and professional.
According to ABC News, the RNC has shelled out nearly $2 million since November 2021 to pay for Trump’s mounting legal fees as he faces growing scrutiny and the possibility of new (and very serious) charges following the Department of Justice’s announcement that it’s officially investigating the former president’s direct role in the deadly insurrection of January 6, 2021. But the political committee, which utilizes donor money to pay these fees, isn’t attempting to make any sort of political statement with its message to Trump, nor is it suggesting they’d prefer to see another candidate in the running. Really, it’s just the opposite: Because the group maintains a “neutrality policy,” it can’t be seen as favoring one candidate during a presidential primary, and paying Trump’s legal bills could certainly be considered a violation of that policy.
“The party has to stay neutral,” RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said in January. “I’m not telling anybody to run or not to run in 2024.” Just that if Trump—who McDaniel says “still leads the party”—opts to make another run at the Oval Office, he’ll have to foot his own legal bills. Which may not seem like a big deal, but ABC News previously reported that in October and November of 2021 alone, the former president’s legal fees totaled $720,000, as Trump is facing a handful of investigations, “including criminal investigations into his businesses in New York.”
(Via ABC News)