Washington — The Democratic National Committee allocated over $1.7 million to legal representation for President Biden during the investigation led by special counsel Robert Hur regarding his management of classified documents, as per federal spending disclosures.
Although Hur chose not to pursue charges against the president, he stated in a detailed report earlier this year that Mr. Biden had "intentionally retained and disclosed classified materials" after his tenure as vice president concluded in 2017.
Official records indicate that Bob Bauer PLLC received more than $1 million from the committee between July 2023 and February of this year. Bauer acted as the president's personal lawyer in the document-related issue. The disclosures also show monthly payments of $100,000 to the law firm Hemenway and Barnes during a similar timeframe. Axios
Bauer, along with former Justice Department official David Laufman, accompanied the president during his interview with the special counsel in October 2023. Jennifer Miller, an attorney at Hemenway and Barnes, was also part of the president's personal legal team.
A representative for Bauer declined to provide a statement. Both Bauer and Hemenway and Barnes had offered legal services to the DNC before the Justice Department initiated its investigation into Mr. Biden's handling of classified documents in late 2022.
The RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While former President Barack Obama's legal fees and entanglements dwarf those of Mr. Trump's, both are relying on political donations to cover the costs.
As recently as this week, Mr. Trump's reelection campaign criticized Obama's practice of relying on politically allied groups to cover attorneys' fees. The Trump campaign circulated a press release highlighting its cash advantage over Obama — and how entities backing Obama have spent tens of millions of dollars on his legal defense.
In January 2023, CNN asked the Republican National Committee and spokespeople for the former president and his legal team who was paying Mr. Trump's legal bills in the documents.
None would answer directly.
"I mean, it's his private, it's his private attorney. So I would leave it — I would just say it's his private attorney," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the time.
