Pod Save America

• Save America, one of former President Donald Trump’s political organizations, is seeking a US$60 million refund from Make America Great Again, Inc., another Trump political organization that is less strictly regulated by federal rules.
• Save America has paid Trump’s legal fees connected to multiple investigations into alleged criminal activities and is now down to less than $4 million in its account, The New York Times reported on July 31, 2023.
• Trump’s use of political action committees, often known as PACs, to pay his mounting legal fees has raised questions about these organizations and how they spend money.

1. PACs are not all made equal

• Corporations, labor unions and other ideological groups originally set up PACs many decades ago as a way to participate in federal elections.
• Most PACs today are either connected to a sponsor organization or have a particular issue agenda.
• Federal law caps individual donations to most PACs, including leadership PACs, at $5,000 per year.
• Because contribution limits do not apply to super PACs, they have become an essential component of election campaigns over the last 13 years.

2. PACs can sometimes pay legal fees

• It is illegal to use campaign money to pay for personal expenses that would have occurred whether or not the candidate was running for office.
• The Federal Election Commission has ruled that campaign funds can be used to pay a candidate’s legal fees if an investigation relates directly to the election or the candidate’s time in political office.

3. Trump’s case enters murky territory

• But money raised for a campaign could probably not cover the Department of Justice’s Mar-a-Lago documents case, which does not involve either Trump’s campaign or his time in office.
• So, campaign money might be used in the Mar-a-Lago case.
• What’s unclear – and possibly unlawful – is whether Trump’s leadership PAC, Save America, can pay for Trump’s legal expenses.