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.”

  • MrJameGumb@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    He’s never going to pay to help any of these people because he believes they are supposed to go to jail for him. He believes that’s part of the “plan” that only exists in his head.

    He has even expressed the opinion on record that he thinks any loyal Republican should always take jail time to protect him and never speak against him. He really does think he’s a mafia boss

      • Random Dent@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        I mean the dude lived in a giant gold tower with his name written across it before he was made one of the most powerful people in the world.

        And he’s a teetotaler. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if he’d gotten into cocaine or something.

    • Spendrill@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Probably should have started with a small leopard rather than choosing to back an obese leopard with a looong track record of chawing on people’s countenances.

  • RattlerSix@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    “Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Jr, have helped with the fundraising around the legal defense fund created in July, which is intended to support legal costs of Trump’s associates and has begun to see financial pledges, the source said.”

    Everything should be fine, the people who steal from charities are in top of it

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    1 year ago

    That’s because Trump’s defense will be throwing you morons under the bus.

    • Random Dent@lemmy.ml
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      Exactly. I’d assume he paid for the legal fees of those staffers because they were either still useful to him, or they had something on him. In other words, he paid because he thought he’d get something out of it.

      These other random people have served their purpose to him and haven’t got anything more useful to extract, or at least nothing worth more than the legal fees, so they can quite literally go hang as far as Trump’s concerned.

      I’m not quite sure why some people are still surprised that Trump operates like this, but like you said they’re morons so that probably covers most of it lol

    • Boddhisatva@kbin.social
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      Probably too late. If the DA doesn’t need anything they have, they are not going to offer them anything to flip. IANAL, but as I understand it, it’s generally just the first one to flip that gets a deal. Everyone else is fucked unless they know something that the first guy to flip didn’t.

      • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I looked into it, what makes people back this guy against all better sense. I think I know why they’re doing it.

        It’s because they’re stupid.

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    “While another ended up spending nearly a week in jail because he initially couldn’t afford to hire an attorney.”

    Regardless of context, this sentence is so dystopian and fucked up.

      • Pretzilla@lemmy.world
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        He was arguing the cost would break him and his family, so I think the issue was that he had too much wealth to have one readily appointed.

        • tegs_terry
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          1 year ago

          So you can be too rich to have a public defender?

          • Pretzilla@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            The way Miranda rights read: “if you cannot afford an attorney, an attorney will be appointed” just like cop shows teach us.

            • IANAL
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      That would require them to admit they are wrong. Can’t keep the grift up if they do that!

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    1 year ago

    In fact, Trump has publicly distanced himself from them, telling Newsmax he doesn’t know “a lot of these people.”

    Wow, that is one hell of a breakup line.

    Nothing quite like finding out you were the one night affair. After you just helped him bury the body.

    • jballs@sh.itjust.works
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      I still can’t wrap my head around why these people are willing to commit multiple felonies for Donald Trump, of all people.

      • tacosplease@lemmy.world
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        They thought he’d be king and would then make them lords LOL. Was never going to happen whether Trump managed to steal the election or not.

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        Every one of them have joined a stupid cult like group for that sense of belonging and affirming their place in the group/world.

        He plays on that. It works. They’ll follow one idiot, so they’ll follow another.

        And their value system - as shown for republicans - is very upside-down: Trump has validity because he’s in the group, and the group is great because he’s in it and so he’s allowed in it. It’s seemingly not the other way around where he can’t join the group as a cad and a cheat. It’s amazingly circular too.

        So yeah: joiners are his thing, and he gives them all the (little-s) social security they crave at the mere cost of them committing treason for him and going to jail.

  • Furbag@lemmy.world
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    Trump had to go to the bail bondsman just like the rest of them did. What does that say about Trump’s ability to pay for other’s legal fees? If he can’t front the cash for bail directly himself, what makes these clowns think they are special?

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        It could be like the Lannisters; except, instead of remembering their debts to get payback, they just celebrate them and the fools they’ve fleeced?

    • Dkarma@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      He’s got this thing. .with his checking account It takes a few days to move the money And he doesn’t have direct deposit.

  • Fondots@lemmy.world
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    Anyone who genuinely believed that Trump was going to pay their bills could probably use that as a good starting point for building an insanity defense.

  • Billiam@lemmy.world
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    LPT: if you don’t commit crimes, you don’t have to worry about paying legal fees!