The Republican Party has agreed to gift up to $1.6 million to Donald Trump to help him fight two parallel investigations of his business practices, according to The Washington Post. The cash is intended to cover Trump as he defends himself from a civil probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James and a criminal investigation by James and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. “The RNC’s Executive Committee approved paying for certain legal expenses that relate to politically motivated legal proceedings waged against President Trump,” said GOP spokeswoman Emma Vaughn. “As a leader of our party, defending President Trump and his record of achievement is critical to the GOP. It is entirely appropriate for the RNC to continue assisting in fighting back against the Democrats’ never ending witch hunt and attacks on him.” Campaign-finance experts said the cash gift was extremely unusual, but doesn’t appear to be illegal. “To pay the legal fees for someone who isn’t a candidate, and isn’t an employee—I’ve never seen that happen,” said Brett Kappel, a campaign lawyer at the firm Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg.
