Trump pledges $430,000 for aides legal costs over Russia probes

Washington Oct 22 (IANS) US President Donald Trump plans to spend at least $430 000 of his personal funds to help cover the legal costs incurred by his aides related to the ongoing investigations of Russian meddling in the 2016 election a White House official said.

The White House official said on Saturday that Trump s pledge was not meant as a reimbursement to the Republican National Convention (RNC) but that it does not preclude Trump from doing that at a later time or for increasing the amount available for his aides reports The Washington Post.

The official said many issues remain to be resolved including how the money will be accessed and who can request it.

The White House s and campaign aides legal costs are expected to increase well beyond what Trump was putting forward.

Russian meddling and other related issues are being investigated by special counsel Robert S. Mueller as well as House and Senate committees.

The RNC reported last month that it paid $100 000 to Trump s personal attorney John Dowd and $131 250 to Jay Sekulow another member of his legal team reports The Washington Post.

The party is also covering the mounting legal costs for Donald Trump Jr. spending nearly $200 000 on lawyers who helped him prepare for testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Those payments included more than $166 000 to attorney Alan Futerfas.

--IANS
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