How Trump Draws on Campaign Funds to Pay Legal Bills
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/us/politics/trump-campaign-funds-legal-bills.htmlAs he has done with other aspects of the presidency, Donald J. Trump has redefined the practice in ways that have unsettled even some Republicans.
By Eric Lipton
Sept. 5, 2020
Updated 10:38 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON — President Trump was proudly litigious before his victory in 2016 and has remained so in the White House. But one big factor has changed: He has drawn on campaign donations as a piggy bank for his legal expenses to a degree far greater than any of his predecessors.
In New York, Mr. Trump dispatched a team of lawyers to seek damages of more than $1 million from a former campaign worker after she claimed she had been the target of sexual discrimination and harassment by another aide. The lawyers have been paid $1.5 million by the Trump campaign for work on the case and others related to the president.
In Washington, Mr. Trump and his campaign affiliates hired lawyers to assist members of his staff and family — including a onetime bodyguard, his oldest son and his son-in-law — as they were pulled into investigations related to Russia and Ukraine. The Republican National Committee has paid at least $2.5 million in legal bills to the firms that did this and other legal work.
In California, Mr. Trump sued to block a law that would have forced him to release his taxes if he wanted to run for re-election. The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have paid the law firm handling this case, among others, $1.8 million.
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It's not unusual to rack up a few legal fees here and there involving an election. That's no big deal; it's part of it. But taking campaign money to pay for unrelated legal costs, including anything involving his kids -- that's just stealing. It would give me great joy to see Republicans antsy about being ripped off by donnie. Unfortunately, the article drops that hint early, then rather than expanding on it in any substantial way just quotes individuals who defend trump's actions.
Golf clap for the gotcha, NYT. 
The grifting shouldn't come as a surprise. This kind of thing has been going on from day one. Ugh.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ivanka-trump-inaugural-investigation-769774/
https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-sues-presidential-inaugural-committee
