Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) reacted to the recent report of 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump spending $40 million in campaign funds on legal fees.
“It is eye-popping but it also shows, I think, by one powerful metric how much Donald Trump’s running for presidency is part of his strategy to keep out of jail,” Schiff said on Inside with Jen Psaki Sunday. The Department of Justice issued new federal charges on Thursday in a case alleging Trump mishandled classified documents, adding charges regarding his alleged destruction of security footage at his Mar-a-Lago home, bringing the total number of charges in the indictment to 40.
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES TEST HOW FAR THEY CAN GO IN CRITICIZING TRUMP
"It is eye popping but it also shows, I think, by one powerful metric how much Donald Trump's running for presidency is part of his strategy to keep out of jail." @AdamSchiff on Trump PAC spending more than $40 million on legal costs this year. pic.twitter.com/wwxFYw9go6
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) July 30, 2023
“This is all about the hope that he becomes the next office holder and he can make all these legal problems go away as the next president,” he continued. “He’s willing to spend whatever campaign contributions come his way to represent anyone that is deemed loyal to him.”
Since its launch in November of 2020, after Trump's election loss, through the second quarter of 2023, the Save America PAC has spent $56 million on legal costs.
In addition to the classified documents case, special counsel Jack Smith is separately investigating the former president over his handling of his 2020 election loss, and is reported to be considering charges in that case.
According to Schiff, the large sum of money funding Trump's legal fight goes toward getting "stories all aligned,” as well as “coach” witnesses, “to say they forgot things that they do remember.”
“It’s problematic from a . . . justice point of view, but I think this is what they’re trying to accomplish,” Schiff said.
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Meanwhile, Schiff's Senate campaign reported $29,800,863.87 in cash-on-hand at the end of the second quarter from April 1 to June 30, per Federal Election Commission filings posted earlier in July. This was more than his two opponents, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), as well as President Joe Biden, the Democratic National Committee, and Trump raised, individually, in the same quarter.
Schiff is in a tight 2024 race for California's open Senate seat as he campaigns to replace outgoing Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) following announcement of her retirement.