Trump's scheme to conceal his legal fees breaks the law: ethics watchdog

The Campaign Legal Center, a prominent ethics watchdog group, is warning that a scheme by former President Donald Trump's campaign to conceal payments to his legal defense could be afoul of the law, reported USA Today on Wednesday.

This comes after new reports this week revealed that Trump funneled payments from his 2024 presidential campaign to his attorneys through a compliance firm called Red Curve Solutions, at a moment when he is facing multiple criminal cases — and classified the money as "reimbursements" in filings with the Federal Election Commission.

"Red Curve Solutions helps political campaigns with a range of services, including 'comprehensive budgeting, accounting and financial management and compliance services,' according to the company's LinkedIn page," reported Zac Anderson. "Campaigns often pay outside organizations to manage polling, consulting or other needs. The Campaign Legal Center said in its Wednesday release that virtually all of the payments from Trump's campaign and committees are described as 'Reimbursement for Legal Fees' or 'Reimbursement for Legal Expenses' — despite the fact that Red Curve Solutions is not a law firm itself."

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"The arrangement seems designed to obscure the true recipients of a noteworthy portion of Trump’s legal bills and, in doing so, seems to violate federal law," wrote CLC in a statement on the complaint they have filed with federal regulators.

Specifically, CLC noted, "Red Curve appears to have been fronting legal costs for Trump since at least December 2022, with Trump-affiliated committees repaying the company later. This arrangement appears to violate FEC rules that require campaigns to disclose not only the entity being reimbursed (here, Red Curve) but also the underlying vendor."

Trump is currently facing four criminal trials, including two related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He is also facing civil judgments in multiple cases totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, and is in the process of appealing them.