CAMPAIGN/ETHICS/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Some White House and Trump campaign officials caught up in investigations of Russia’s electoral meddling are struggling to pay their legal bills, prompting them to create legal defense funds, liquidate personal accounts and explore other sources of financing.
Washington is one of the nation’s costliest legal jurisdictions, with many lawyers charging upward of $1,000 an hour, and several Trump associates have been contacted in connection with multiple ongoing investigations, from Congress to the special counsel’s office.
Former Trump campaign aide Michael Caputo, who testified in July before a closed-door hearing of the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview he has spent around $30,000 on legal bills. He said he liquidated a college fund he had set up for his daughters, including one who is 15 years old.
‘My retirement account is next,’ Mr. Caputo said, estimating that paying a Washington attorney to represent a witness at one congressional hearing costs around $40,000. He said his costs were lower because he hired a lawyer in upstate New York where he lives…
The sprawling investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election have touched many current and former White House and campaign officials. Some, like Mr. Manafort, played major roles in the campaign, while others operated at lower levels.
The Office of Government Ethics recently revisited guidance on anonymous and other donations to legal-defense funds in light of the current interest.”
-Aruna Viswanatha and Del Quentin Wilber, “Russia Probe Takes Financial Toll on Trump Aides,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 17, 2017 09:00am