Going broke for the Donald

As this blog has noted on numerous occasions, the closest thing Trump has to a redeeming value is the total humiliation he inevitably inflicts on his biggest lickspittles. And if this inflication is your life savings, even better:

Over a dozen of former President Trump’s close allies face growing legal bills when he’s least able to help — and they’re turning to desperate measures to raise money for their fights.

Why it matters: Trump’s co-defendants in the Fulton County case each need legal teams that could cost well into the six figures.

• “Even if you do some back-of-the envelope accounting, I’d think each motion filed is going to cost a defendant in the five figures minimum,” Caren Morrison, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York and an associate professor of law at Georgia State University, wrote in an email to Axios.
• “I don’t see anyone’s fee less than $250,000-500,000” unless they strike a plea deal with prosecutors, Cornell Law School adjunct professor Randy Zelin told Axios.

Between the lines: Trump is notoriously stingy in using his own money to front legal fees and he’s resisted dipping into his own funds to support even his closest allies.

• Former Trump ally Michael Cohen sued in 2019, alleging that he entered an agreement with the Trump Organization that it would pay for his representation and defense for various investigations.
• Cohen said that the organization stopped paying his legal expenses after he started cooperating in probes into the former president and the organization’s business practices.

Trump also snubbed associates who were central to his efforts to overturn 2020 election results by not paying them for their work, CNBC reported.

• Ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani faces “financial difficulties,” his attorneys wrote in a filing earlier this month in a civil defamation case.
• Giuliani was charged along with Trump and 17 others in Georgia for alleged efforts to subvert 2020 election results.
• After urging from Giuliani himself and his son for financial support, Trump is now scheduled to attend a $100,000 per person fundraiser for Giuliani at the former president’s club in Bedminster, N.J., per the New York Times.

Zoom in: Some co-defendants are turning to crowdfunding.

Jenna Ellis, a former Trump lawyer, wrote in a post on “X” that she “was reliably informed Trump isn’t funding any of us who are indicted.”

• Ellis, who represented Trump during and after the 2020 presidential election, has faced the wrath of some Trump supporters after she’s signaled support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

It’s hilarious that Ellis endorsed DeSantis while still expecting to get paid by Trump, but if it’s any consolation she would be on her own anyway. I don’t think the Harlans Crow of the world are going to step up either — they prefer winners, people with power, stuff like that there.