Trump's PAC Funds Epshteyn's Legal Defense in Arizona Case, Marking First Payment for Co-Defendant

Trump's PAC Paid for Epshteyn's Legal Defense in Arizona Case

New campaign finance records reveal that Donald Trump's political action committee, Save America, paid for the legal defense of Boris Epshteyn, a longtime advisor to the former president, in his upcoming criminal trial in Arizona.

Save America made two payments totaling $50,000 to the Phoenix-based law firm Tully Bailey LLP on May 14th. Partner Michael Bailey, who served as the U.S. attorney for Arizona from 2019 to 2021, has represented Epshteyn in the Arizona case since May 9th.

Epshteyn was indicted in April on state charges related to his alleged involvement in the fake elector scheme in Arizona. He has pleaded not guilty. Bailey represented Epshteyn at his arraignment in June, which was delayed due to Bailey's obligations to another client.

It is unclear whether the payments were directly tied to Epshteyn's representation, but they were the PAC's first disbursements to the firm. Since last year, none of the other co-defendants with ties to Trump in Arizona or a related scheme in Georgia have received financial support from Save America for their legal expenses.

Epshteyn remains a key figure in Trump's legal team, coordinating multiple legal teams for Trump in various cases, including the New York hush money trial and the investigation by the House Jan. 6 committee.

Save America, established by Trump in November 2020, and Trump's 2024 presidential campaign have spent at least $90.6 million on legal-related expenses, primarily for Trump himself. Nearly $83 million of that amount is attributable to Save America.

The PAC has made payments for "legal consulting" to law firms representing Trump's co-defendants in the Mar-a-Lago documents case in Florida. However, Trump-affiliated entities are not believed to have paid for lawyers representing defendants beyond Trump and Epshteyn in Arizona or Georgia.

When asked about covering legal expenses for other co-defendants, Save America and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

In response to the news, Biden campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa stated that Trump will "stop at nothing to maintain his grip on power, including by paying bills for fake electors who tried to steal an election."

In December 2022, Save America made a payment of nearly $900,000 to McGuireWoods LLP, which represented former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in the Jan. 6 congressional investigation and other matters.

In 2021 and 2022, Save America paid roughly $175,000 to the law firm of attorney Stanley Woodward, who represented several of Trump's personal aides during the Jan. 6 committee's inquiry. Woodward also represents Nauta in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.