With trials pushed back, Trump sees first big dip in legal bills

WASHINGTON (AP) — As former President Donald Trump faces a supercharged Democratic fundraising effort, a persistent drag on his campaign’s coffers may be easing: legal expenses.

A new report shows that the Save America political action committee paid about $827,000 in June for Trump’s legal bills — the first time a monthly total has dipped below $1 million in two years. The Trump-aligned PAC has shelled out an average of nearly $4 million a month on such costs since July 2022, most of it on defending the former president in criminal and civil cases, according to an Associated Press analysis of campaign finance records.

It is not surprising that Save America has recorded such a drop. Trump’s weeks-long hush-money trial ended in May — with a conviction — and the former president has enjoyed a string of good fortune in two federal criminal cases that will not go to trial anytime soon, if at all. A fourth case, in Georgia, is also in limbo.

Funds once needed to finance those courtroom battles can instead be spent on the campaign, which has entered a critical phase. On Sunday, President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place at the head of the Democratic ticket, effectively restarting the race. Trump has said he should be reimbursed for the money his campaign spent against Biden.

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