this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2023
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United States | News & Politics

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CNN — Some of Donald Trump’s co-defendants in the sprawling election subversion case in Georgia are trying all sorts of ways to fund their mounting legal bills – yet the costs of the 2020 election fallout may quickly exceed their abilities to pay.

At least four have turned to crowdfunding online, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for defense lawyers. One now has a political action committee to help with legal fees. Another has an ally in Congress vowing to support his legal defense. While another ended up spending nearly a week in jail because he initially couldn’t afford to hire an attorney.

Trump has covered the legal bills of aides, advisers and employees during the House select committee’s probe into January 6, 2021, and federal investigations, including his two co-defendants in the classified documents case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, both of whom work for the former president.

But there is no sign yet that Trump intends to do so for any of his co-defendants in the Georgia case, which alleges that he and others engaged in a criminal conspiracy to subvert the state’s 2020 election results. In fact, Trump has publicly distanced himself from them, telling Newsmax he doesn’t know “a lot of these people.”

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[–] MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world 39 points 1 year ago

How unfortunate.

Maybe cut expenses like avocado toast, and redirect those funds to your legal defense.

OR

Cut a deal. Fuck Trump for not having your back. Sing, sing, sing your way to a very light sentence.

[–] fubo@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

Dude doesn't pay his own bills and you're expecting him to pay yours?

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is real leopards ate my face territory.

The fact that somebody spent a week in jail before they got a lawyer is a real indictment of the American legal system. That shouldn't happen

[–] medgremlin@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 year ago

Apparently Georgia has some pretty draconian means-testing to qualify for a public defender. I remember reading something like 250% of the federal poverty line or thereabouts. (Which works out to about $36k per year, by the way.) They should really look into fixing that.

[–] Nougat@kbin.social 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This all sounds like a bunch of people all gathering in support of someone just because they think they might be the one to profit from some implicitly promised "trickle down."

"He can't possibly cheat all of us, right?"

[–] rtxn@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

And understandably, we are thrilled about their misery.

[–] HowMany@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

Oh no! Did the con man promise you something and then not do it? That is such a surprise.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago
[–] mokosai@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

This might lead to more cooperation between some of the defendants and the prosecutors. It seems like Trump-funded lawyers never seem to suggest cooperation to their clients.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 3 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Trump has covered the legal bills of aides, advisers and employees during the House select committee’s probe into January 6, 2021, and federal investigations, including his two co-defendants in the classified documents case, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, both of whom work for the former president.

But there is no sign yet that Trump intends to do so for any of his co-defendants in the Georgia case, which alleges that he and others engaged in a criminal conspiracy to subvert the state’s 2020 election results.

Jenna Ellis, a right-wing attorney who represented Trump in 2020, has already raised more than $180,000 for her legal defense fund through a faith-based crowdfunding site called GiveSendGo.

The prospect of hefty legal bills has also prompted grumbling from Ellis, who was charged as part of a conspiracy over planning the hearings after the 2020 election in Georgia where Trump allies pushed baseless fraud claims.

Floyd – the leader of Black Voices for Trump, who was accused of threatening a Georgia election worker – surrendered at the jail without an attorney, telling a magistrate judge he could not afford a lawyer.

But the PAC has also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the legal fees for defense lawyers who represent notable figures in Trump’s circles, including Nauta and De Oliveira, his two co-defendants in the classified documents case.


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[–] HenriVolney@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago

Crooks are going to eat each other like a school of piranhas in a puddle

[–] keeb420@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Ahahahahahahahaha I love it.

[–] Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

This is how he will be taken down, by his own stupidity selfishness and greed. They just need one or two key conspirators to flip on him and it’s game over. Add legal and financial problems to the mix and it’s a tinderbox of Trumps own making.