- According to an Axios report, Federal Election Commission documents show that Pres. Joe Biden has been donor funds to pay legal bills. This comes as Biden has levied criticism at former Pres. Donald Trump for engaging in the same practice. ABC News
- Records indicate that Biden spent $2M in donations to cover his legal fees. Around $1.05M reportedly went to Bob Bauer —Biden's personal lawyer, who oversaw the probe into Biden's handling of classified documents. Lawfirm Hemenway & Barnes reportedly received $905K. The Telegraph
- This comes as the Biden campaign made remarks last weekend that: "Every single time you give to the campaign, we're going straight to talk to voters…We are not spending money on legal bills or hawking gold sneakers." The comments were a reference to the Trump campaign. axios.com
- The Republican National Committee responded with allegations of hypocrisy by the Biden campaign in response to the report. The Telegraph
- Trump has reportedly spent around $55.6M on legal expenditures this year, reportedly re-allocating donor funds from two of his Political Action Committees (PACs). Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
Republican narrative:
- The Democrats' whole campaign against President Trump is constructed around hyperbole and hypocrisy. While condemning Trump for needing to defend himself against Biden's witch hunts, the DNC has repeatedly said that they don't use PAC money for Biden's legal bills. Sadly and unsurprisingly, it turns out that the DNC has spent millions of dollars doing just that.
FOX NEWS (LR: 4 CP: 4)
Democratic narrative:
- There is no comparison between the two campaigns. The Republican National Committee is now acting as the fundraising arm for Donald Trump's criminal defense. Biden does not use PAC money as essentially his personal checking account like Trump does. Unlike Trump, the DNC does not spend any of its grassroots supporters' money on legal fees. That's a huge difference.
GUARDIAN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
Cynical narrative:
- Voters of all political persuasions are the losers here. Donor funds funneled through PACs and Super PACs have created an oligarchal, symbiotic relationship between both political parties and wealthy interests. All voters — both Republicans and Democrats — should be deeply concerned that special interest funding is incompatible with American democracy.
CAMPAIGNLEGAL.ORG
Nerd narrative:
- There is a 40% chance Donald J. Trump will be convicted of at least one count in his federal court cases before the end of 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)