(The Center Square) – A 222-page document filed in Fulton County Superior Court outlines President Donald Trump's $6.2 million in legal fees spent defending himself in an election interference case.
Fulton County taxpayers could be forced to pay those legal fees if they are approved by a judge. A bill passed by Georgia lawmakers allows defendants to bill the county if the prosecuting attorney is disqualified for misconduct and the case is dismissed.
A judge removed District Attorney Fani Willis from the case after defense attorneys uncovered a romantic relationship between her and lead prosecutor Nathan Wade. Trump's legal team said in their motion for legal fees that the August 2023 grand jury indictment was political.
"Prior to the special purpose grand jury concluding its work, DA Willis was disqualified from investigating a putative target, current Lt. Governor Burt Jones, for misconduct stemming from DA Willis openly promoting and headlining a fundraiser for his political opponent," the motion said.
Charges against Trump and the 18 other defendants were dropped after Peter Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia, appointed himself to the case and filed a motion to dismiss the case in November. Skandalakis also cleared Jones, a gubernatorial candidate, of any wrongdoing.
The motion filed Wednesday shows how the legal fees are split between the attorneys and a company called 2M Document Management and Imaging, which sent $690,000 to the Make America Great Again PAC.
Steve Sadow billed $1,516,456. His retainer was a flat $1.5 million fee paid in three payments of $500,000. The retainer did not include expenses, according to the document.
Atlanta Attorney Jennifer Little's fees in the document are $2.3 million, which included an initial $25,000 retainer and a rate of $450 an hour.
Findling Law Firm required a non-refundable retainer of $100,000 and a billable hourly rate ranging from $1,000 to $350, depending on the attorney. The total cost for Findling Law is $1,464,004.73, according to the document.
Other law firms listed are Dwight L. Thomas, P.C. ($118,217.80); Law Offices of Matthew K. Winchester ($43,215) and The Bullard Firm, LLC ($107,835).
The motion also includes $7,500 for Trump's bail bond fee.
While the case is over, scrutiny of the prosecution continues. The Senate Special Committee on Investigations questioned Willis, a Democrat, about her prosecution last month. She told the committee that she took on the case because "because people came into my jurisdiction and they broke the law."
Willis remains in office. She staved off a primary challenge in 2024 and defeated Republican Courtney Kramer with 68.1% of the vote.
Originally published on thecentersquare.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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