Former President Donald Trump is organizing a dinner this fall at his Mar-a-Lago home that could raise up to $1 million for his co-defendants and others involved in four indictments against him, The Messenger reported Thursday.
The former president’s sons will be in attendance at the event, and the date and details are still being planned by the Patriot Legal Defense Fund in coordination with the Save America political action committee (PAC), sources familiar with the discussions told The Messenger. The event will help foot the legal bills for those charged alongside Trump and witnesses involved in the indictments by Special Counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“It’s a family style dinner, very intimate and exclusive,” a Trump official told The Messenger. (RELATED: Trump Asked Point-Blank Whether He’d Drop Out Of The Race To Escape Indictments)
The event is likely to host roughly two dozen individuals for the dinner, as well as 20 more for a reception beforehand, according to The Messenger.
Bragg indicted the former president on March 30 for allegedly falsifying business records when reimbursing a hush money payment to porn star actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair. Smith indicted Trump and aide Walt Nauta on June 8 over alleged mishandling of classified documents, and Trump again on Aug. 1 over alleged interference in the 2020 election and alleged involvement in Jan. 6.
Willis indicted the former president and 18 others on Aug. 14 over alleged interference in Georgia’s 2020 election. Among prominent co-defendants are attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, as well as former chief of staff Mark Meadows.
The Mar-a-Lago Club, home of former US President Donald Trump, is seen on April 3, 2023 in Palm Beach, Florida. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump’s legal expenses were primarily being covered by Save America PAC, which it allocated $22 million toward in the first part of the year, until the Patriot Legal Defense Fund was launched in mid-July, according to The Messenger.
“Save America wasn’t really designed as a legal defense fund, so as the legal landscape evolved, so did this effort,” a Trump official familiar with the dinner’s planning told The Messenger. “The fact is that the Department of Justice is trying to bankrupt people and make them drown under legal bills, but Donald Trump is not going to let them.”
Despite Trump’s legal woes, his lead in the 2024 Republican primary has continued to grow since the first indictment in late March, according to the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average. For a 2024 national GOP primary, based on polls conducted between Aug. 24 and Sept. 1, the former president is ahead by almost 40 points, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 14.9%, conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy with 6.8%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with 6.1% and former Vice President Mike Pence with 4.9%.
Trump did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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