Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis questioned on social media why former President Trump’s legal defense fund isn’t paying her bills.
“I was reliably informed Trump isn’t funding any of us who are indicted,” Ellis posted. “Would this change if he becomes the nominee? Why then, not now?”
Ellis is one of 19 co-defendants, along with former President Trump, who were indicted by a grand jury on racketeering charges related to attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has given each of the co-defendants until Friday to “voluntarily surrender” or face an arrest warrant.
Ellis was Trump 2020 Campaign senior legal advisor that year. She worked with the campaign and other Trump attorneys such as Rudy Giuliani and Sydney Powell—both among the co-defendants in the Georgia indictment—on efforts to challenge President Biden’s election victory starting that November.
Neither Trump campaign officials nor the political action committee (PAC) Make America Great Again, Inc. have publicly commented on Ellis’ question as of Monday.
It has been reported, however, that the Trump campaign has paid lawyers representing the former President, and another political action committee, the Save America PAC, is also paying for the legal representation of witnesses in his various investigations. Among his two federal indictments, the Georgia indictment and a New York State indictment, Trump is staring down a total of 91 criminal charges.
Since the Save America PAC was established after the 2020 election, it has raised more than $100 million—but that money has also been spent quickly, including on legal fees. In February 2022, the PAC said it had $122 million in cash on hand. By the start of 2023, filings showed that figure had decreased to $18 million, and more than $16 million had already been spent on legal fees before Trump’s first indictment which was in April of this year.
On social media, Ellis was responding to a post by Republican strategist Matt Schlapp, who asserted that other GOP 2024 Presidential candidates should drop out because “[t]he sooner we unify behind a nominee that sooner we can use resources to fund the defenses of everyone indicted for being a Trump Republican.”
Ellis said in her post, “I totally agree this has become a bigger principle than just one man. So why isn’t MAGA, Inc. [PAC] funding everyone’s defense?”
At least 15 Republicans have so far joined the race for the GOP nomination, at least nine of which, including Trump, have qualified to take part in Wednesday night’s first Republican Presidential debate of the 2024 campaign season, though Trump himself has said he will not be among them.
