The Art of the StealA project of the Save America Movement
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★ Private Action

Trump PAC paid Blanche Law $9.3M before Blanche became Deputy AG

DOJ Political InterferenceDonor Influence and Access

Filed January 2025$9,269,237

★ The Brief

What happened

Save America made 32 disbursements totaling $9.27 million to Blanche Law between April 2023 and Trump's second inauguration. Blanche founded the firm in 2022 to represent Trump in the New York hush-money prosecution.

Who enabled it

Who benefits

Deal or steal?

The PAC's payments were funded by donor political contributions. Once at DOJ, Blanche signed the May 2026 settlement of Trump's $10 billion IRS lawsuit, releasing the Trump plaintiffs from any current or future U.S. claim.

Between April 10, 2023 and the day before Donald Trump's second inauguration, Save America PAC -- Trump's leadership political action committee -- made 32 disbursements to Blanche Law totaling $9,269,237, per Federal Election Commission Schedule B records. Todd Blanche founded the firm in 2022 after leaving Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to represent Trump in the New York hush-money prosecution; Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in May 2024. Emil Bove was Blanche's partner at the firm. Blanche was nominated as Deputy Attorney General in November 2024 and confirmed in March 2025; Bove joined the Department of Justice as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and served for a period as acting Deputy Attorney General before Blanche's confirmation. Save America made one additional $543,711 payment to Blanche Law on February 10, 2025, between Blanche's nomination and confirmation; that payment is not included in the $9.27M total. Funding for Save America's legal-fee disbursements came from political contributions to the PAC -- meaning donors who gave to support Trump's political activities had their contributions used to pay the legal bills of his personal criminal defense team, several members of which now run the Justice Department that previously prosecuted him.

Actors

Who pushed it · 1

Who initiated, paid, or pushed the action.

  • Save America PAC
    Save America PAC

    Trump's leadership PAC and the sole Trump-cmte source of legal fees to Blanche Law before inauguration -- 32 payments totaling $9,269,237 between April 2023 and January 2025. Save America's contributors fund the disbursements; the committee has continued paying the firm in 2025 - 2026 after Blanche's confirmation as Deputy Attorney General.

Beneficiaries

Who gained · 4

Who stood to gain.

  • Donald Trump
    Donald Trump

    Personal beneficiary of the legal services Blanche Law provided in the New York hush-money prosecution -- a personal criminal matter. The fees were paid by Trump's own leadership PAC, meaning donors to Save America funded Trump's personal criminal defense rather than political activity in the conventional sense.

  • Emil Bove
    Emil Bove

    Partner at Blanche Law and part of Trump's defense team during the New York hush-money trial. Took a role as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General at the start of the second Trump administration and served for a period as acting Deputy Attorney General before Blanche's confirmation.

  • Todd Blanche
    Todd Blanche

    Founder of Blanche Law and Trump's lead defense attorney in the New York hush-money trial. Save America's payments to his firm coincided with the trial period; the firm received up to $800K/month during the peak of the proceedings. Nominated as Deputy Attorney General in November 2024 and confirmed in March 2025.

    Todd Blanche has paid into Trump’s orbit:

  • Blanche Law

    Recipient of $9,269,237 from Save America PAC across 32 payments between April 2023 and January 2025. Founded by Todd Blanche in 2022 specifically to represent Trump in the New York hush-money case; Emil Bove was a partner. Both principals subsequently took senior Justice Department roles.

Sources

Further reading