President Joe Biden used campaign donations to pay his legal bills related to the investigation into his handling of classified documents, a surprising new report revealed Friday.
Biden and his allies have criticized his rival Donald Trump for using donor money to pay his huge legal bills.
But Biden is doing the same thing. axios reported, revealing that the Democratic National Committee paid more than $1.5 million to lawyers or firms representing Biden during special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into the president’s handling of classified documents.
President Joe Biden was investigated for having classified documents in the garage of his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Democratic National Committee paid $1.05 million to Bob Bauer PLLC, the professional limited liability company of Biden’s top lawyer, Bob Bauer, from July 2023 to February 2024.
Additionally, beginning last July, the Democratic National Committee increased its monthly payments to the law firm Hemenway & Barnes from $15,000 to $100,000.
Jennifer Miller, who works at the firm, is one of Biden’s lawyers.
It’s unclear how much of that money was spent on Biden’s fees versus legal work for the Democratic National Committee, which had no comment on the matter.
Hur was investigating how classified documents ended up in an office formerly used by Biden and in the garage of his home in Wilmington, Delaware, near Biden’s classic corvette.
Hur, who was appointed to the position by Attorney General Merrick Garland, ultimately concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge Biden with a crime.
But, as part of his research, tThe special counsel interviewed Biden at the White House on October 8 and 9. And the FBI He had searched Biden’s home to see if there was any other classified material. Biden’s lawyers were present at both events.
Hur’s original shocking report sparked fury in the White House when the special counsel described Biden, 81, as “a sympathetic, well-intentioned old man with a short memory.”
Biden himself criticized Hur for claiming that he did not remember the day his son Beau died.
Department of Justice photographs reveal boxes and boxes of files stored in unsecured locations, such as the garage of his home.
The president, in addition to the special counsel’s investigation, also faces an impeachment attempt by House Republicans that is largely losing steam.
Therefore, the total amount of legal bills he will face during his presidency is still unclear.
But the new report comes just weeks after Biden held a lavish fundraiser at New York’s Radio City Hall featuring Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, where his campaign raised more than $25 million.
Biden and his allies have repeatedly mocked Trump for using donor money to pay legal fees. The former president faces about $100 million in legal bills related to cases in New York and Georgia, as well as two federal cases.
The president, at a fundraiser in Texas last month, drew a big laugh from donors when he said: “Just the other day, this defeated-looking man came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, I need your help “I’m in debt. I’m completely wiped out.”
“I said, ‘I’m sorry, Donald, I can’t help you.'”
And when Trump raised more than $50 million at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser, a Biden campaign official scoffed that it was “a bunch of billionaires figuring out how to pay their legal bills.”
The Democratic National Committee said there is a difference in the use of the money.
“There is no comparison – the Democratic National Committee does not spend a single penny of grassroots donor money on bills – unlike Donald Trump, who actively seeks legal fees from his supporters and has withdrawn every bank account he has could get, like a personal piggy bank,” said Democratic National Committee spokesman Alex Floyd.
The Republican National Committee has asked Democratic National Committee Chairman Jamie Harrison to explain to donors why their money was spent on Biden’s legal fees.
Former President Barack Obama (left) and former President Bill Clinton (right) cheer on President Joe Biden (center) during a campaign fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall.
Robert Hur’s original shocking report sparked fury in the White House when the special counsel described Biden, 81, as “a sympathetic, well-intentioned old man with a short memory.”
The Republican National Committee had paid some of Trump’s legal bills, but since he became a presidential candidate in 2022, his legal bills have been paid with campaign donations to his Save America PAC.
The Republican National Committee has now told donors that none of their money will go to Trump’s court fights.
Last year, Trump’s fundraising arms spent more than $50 million on legal costs.