President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening is expected to raise about $5 million at a high-dollar fundraiser here with some of his wealthiest supporters.
A week ago, the Republican National Committee revealed it is paying in part for the President’s personal legal bills stemming from the federal investigation into the Trump campaign’s potential role in the Russian meddling into the 2016 election. Trump will sit down Tuesday evening with about 150 donors who are ponying up to support his 2020 reelection campaign, the GOP’s political efforts and, in some cases, the RNC legal fund bearing the cost of some of his attorney fees.
Republican donors attending the dinner at the ritzy French restaurant Le Cirque will be spending at least $35,000 per couple. A $100,000 donation will get a couple of donors “VIP access,” while anything over $250,000 will get donors a seat at a table with the President ahead of his remarks, an RNC official said.
The fundraiser is the first Trump has attended since the RNC confirmed last week that it paid two of Trump’s personal attorneys representing him in the Russia-related investigations more than $230,000, via their law firms, in August.
The RNC has also spent nearly $200,000 to support the legal fees of Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr., who became a focus of the investigation after he admitted to meeting with a Russian attorney last summer he believed would provide him with incriminating information about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.
The Trump campaign is also paying some of Trump Jr.’s legal bills and spent nearly $700,000 in legal consulting fees — or about 15.5% of its total expenses between April 1 and June 30, according to the latest Federal Election Commission report.
The RNC payments to Trump attorneys were drawn from the party’s legal expenses account, which allows the party to pay for legal bills stemming from its campaign activities.
While donors must elect to donate to the legal fund, wealthy donors who pay to attend high-dollar fundraisers like Tuesday night’s typically spread their money into several RNC accounts — including its legal fund — to stay in line with contribution limits.
A June fundraiser hosted by “Trump Victory,” the RNC-Trump campaign joint fundraising apparatus, funneled as much as 30% of its top-dollar donations to its legal proceedings account.
An RNC spokeswoman declined to provide the breakdown of how funds raised from Tuesday night’s dinner would be allocated.
