Republican National Committee spent $200k for Trump Jr.’s legal fees for Russia probe

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has spent almost $200,000 on legal fees for President Donald Trump's eldest son in connection with the investigation into alleged intervention int the 2016 presidential election by Russia.

According to Politico, $166,000 from the committee’s legal proceedings account went to Alan Futerfas, who is one of Trump Jr.’s attorneys, and the law firm Williams & Jensen received $30,000, which helped prepare him for testimony.

The RNC confirmed on Tuesday that it has spent $231,250 on some of President Donald Trump’s legal fees related to the special counsel investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. The RNC official who confirmed the report insisted on anonymity to discuss financial information not yet made public.

The committee released its August spending totals on Wednesday, but that report does not include the spending on Trump Jr.'s legal fees. Those figures will appear on the committee's September report, the official said.

PressTV-Trump Jr. in Russia scandal

Nearly six months after taking the oath of office, allegations of possible coordination between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia continue to cast a cloud over Donald Trump's presidency.

Trump Jr.'s attorneys' fees were paid for out of the "legal proceedings account," a pre-existing account that high-dollar donors to the party knowingly contribute to. The payments were not taken from the party's general fund and will not reduce party spending on political work. The account was created two years ago and allows both party committees to fund-raise for legal fees.

Trump Jr. recently testified in private to Senate investigators that he did not collude with Russia to smear Hillary Clinton's campaign against his father. US intelligence agencies say Russia tried to influence the election to help Trump win.

Trump Jr. recently hired a New York lawyer shortly after confirming a New York Times report about his meeting with a Russian lawyer in the run-up to last year’s US presidential election.

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• Russian lawyer ready to testify over Trump Jr.
• Trump's son hires lawyer for Russia probe

Trump Jr. said the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, approached him saying she had important information about the Russian government’s ties to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

According to him, the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York was cut short as the information provided was “vague and made no sense.”

In a declassified report released in January, the intelligence community concluded that Russia helped with the New York billionaire’s campaign effort ahead of winning the White House, an allegation dismissed both by Moscow and Trump.

Trump is now being accused of obstructing justice in the investigation process, in part by dismissing the FBI director at the helm of the probe.

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