WASHINGTON— Hunter BidenThe country’s allies are again examining whether to set up a legal defense fund to help pay his legal costs, after a similar effort was considered late last year, when two people close to President Joe Biden received a briefing on how a defense fund would work, according to multiple sources familiar with the current and past efforts.
The current interest in a fund to help pay for Biden’s mounting legal costs comes as the president’s son faces two criminal trials starting next month and reduced support from his top backer.
One approach that allies have recently discussed is creating a public fund for small donations, four sources close to Hunter Biden told NBC News. They described such a move as a last resort if efforts to seek greater financial support fail, and stressed that no decision has yet been made to move forward.
Hollywood lawyer Kevin Morris, who until recently financed Biden’s legal defense, said his inability to continue as the main backer comes at a precarious time. “It’s a very difficult situation,” Morris told NBC News. “The timing couldn’t be worse.”
“I have made it clear for months that I have exhausted all my options to be the sole source for legal defense funding and everything else,” he added.
Biden is estimated to have more than $10 million in legal fees. Both of his criminal trials, which stem from special counsel David Weiss’ investigation, are set to begin in June. In Delaware, he faces three charges related to improperly filling out a form during a gun purchase in 2018, and in California, he faces nine charges related to his taxes. Biden faces significant prison time if convicted.
The briefing
David Jolly, a lawyer and former Republican congressman from Florida, said he received an urgent call in early December from a person close to the Biden family. Since early 2023, after being contacted by Morris and speaking to members of Biden’s legal team, Jolly had been quietly exploring what a legal defense fund for the president’s son would look like.
During the phone call, he was asked to inform two people close to him about the plan he had devised, Jolly told NBC News. His briefing outlined how a legal defense fund would work – essentially as a blind trust – and estimated the costs of setting one up. He also explained how a trust would ensure the defense fund could raise money for legal fees and weather expected criticism from the Justice Department, congressional investigators and the media.
“I provided a brief on what the legal architecture would be,” Jolly said.
Jolly is a contributor to MSNBC, a role he also held in early December.
The early December briefing included past details and recommended rules for legal defense funds, such as no foreign money, no contributions from registered lobbyists or federal employees, and an affirmation from donors that they had no ongoing business with the federal government.
Jolly’s proposal included a recommendation that all donations remain completely private to ensure that the president could not be made aware of who had contributed. It also stipulated that any money the defense fund received could only be used for legal bills, and not for other types of expenses.
Jolly said the briefing never included a role or compensation for himself, but that he would have been available to serve as counsel for the defense fund and vet potential donors. The plan also recommended including a separate ethics consultant.
“To protect everyone involved, if there is a potential supporter, just have them call me,” he said, describing the proposal. He said he recommended that approach “so that [the] The White House didn’t know about it, Hunter didn’t know about it.”
The president and first lady were later briefed on Jolly’s presentation on the operation of a legal defense fund, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
Jolly said he never communicated with the White House counsel’s office about the matter. He said he doesn’t know whether the president or first lady have been briefed on his plan, but that the two people he presented the proposal to “need to have the president’s ear.”
He said his proposed defense fund never got off the ground and he was not paid for his work on it. Jolly also said he stopped working this spring when it became clear there was a lack of donor support.
A White House official told NBC News on Friday evening that the White House has not been involved in any legal defense fund efforts for the president’s son.
“Since taking office, the President has pledged not to be involved in Hunter’s lawsuits, and accordingly, the White House is not involved in Hunter’s legal strategy or financing. Hunter is a private individual who has a strong team handling his legal matters, and all decisions are made by them,” the official said.
Launch failed
No official legal defense fund has been opened and there is no formal leadership on such an effort, although a few close friends have made small private donations toward legal costs, totaling less than $300,000, according to a source familiar with the effort.
Biden’s allies have different theories about why that is the case. Part of the reason, they say, is that some potential donors feared that if they made a contribution, their names would become public and they would then face harassment from the public or subpoenas from the Justice Department or Congress if the fund were to be investigated. The Republicans in the House of Representatives have already conducted lengthy investigations into Biden’s business dealings.
Jolly said he believes the president’s political advisers also tried to stymie any effort to establish a legal defense fund.
“It’s terrible,” he said.
“I believe they’ve told willing donors to stay away and not do it,” Jolly said, citing patterns of having a conversation with someone willing to consider contributing to a legal defense fund for Biden, only for the clues to ‘evaporate’ later. .”
Jolly said a senior Democratic official once called Biden “expendable.” Two sources said they once heard senior agents describe the president’s son as “collateral,” rather than a priority.
Three sources familiar with efforts to raise money in support of Biden said they believed pressure from the president’s advisers — directly or indirectly — ultimately prevented the creation of a legal defense fund.
Jolly’s attempt to raise money to pay Hunter Biden’s legal fees wasn’t the only one. Other efforts, some more informal, have been made in the past year, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Democratic operatives who have been involved in fundraising and advocacy for Biden said they encountered resistance from the president’s top political advisers.
“There was an attempt at discouragement, mainly by communicating with Democratic donors,” said one of the officers, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
Those close to Hunter Biden have said privately that they would like to see more public support for him coming from the White House or Democratic surrogates. The president and first lady have stood by their son and expressed pride in his recovery from addiction, and both have said publicly that they do not believe he is guilty of any wrongdoing.
The White House has actively responded to attacks on the first family, including Hunter Biden, as part of Republicans’ ongoing impeachment inquiry.
White House aides have been reluctant to allow the president or other leading Democrats to defend him too heavily, fearing it would create the impression that the commander-in-chief is meddling in his son’s legal matters, people say who are familiar with the matter.
Other allies of the president argue that his support for his son is crucial to him personally and is part of his appeal to voters as a demonstration of his values.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
