A new FEC filing shows that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign paid the law firm representing his son nearly two weeks before The New York Times published a report that he had taken a meeting with lawyers tied to the Russian government.
The records, filed on Saturday, show that the president’s re-election campaign paid $50,000 to the Law Offices of Alan S. Futerfas on June 27, 11 days before the July 8 The Times report.
It was announced that Trump Jr. had hired Futerfas, a lawyer who specializes in white collar criminal defense, on Monday. The eldest Trump son would later go on to tweet screenshots of an email exchange with publicist Rob Goldstone setting up a meeting between members of then-candidate Trump’s inner circle and Kremlin-linked business associates who promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
The White House has denied that President Trump had any knowledge of the meeting at the time, with Trump Jr. telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity that “there was nothing to tell” his father at the time because nothing came of the sit-down.
Saturday’s filings also show that more than 15 percent of the $4.3 million spent by the Donald Trump for President campaign between April and June went to legal representation. More than $500,000 went to the Washington D.C. law firm Jones Day, which has represented the campaign since 2016.
In addition, the campaign also paid the Trump Corporation as much as $90,000 for “legal counseling” just days after payments to the Futerfas.