Byron Donalds’ Campaign Incurred ‘Extremely High’ Legal Expenses

The campaign for Rep. Byron Donalds, the Florida Republican who emerged Wednesday as an opposition candidate for Speaker of the House, has spent at least $300,000 on legal fees since 2020, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

“Three-hundred thousand dollars in legal fees for a House campaign committee is extremely high,” said Brett Kappel, an attorney specializing in campaign finance at Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg. “You normally only see legal fees like that if the candidate is the subject of a criminal or House ethics committee investigation. The average House campaign spends less than $1,000 a month on legal fees.”

A spokesperson for Donalds said the fees mostly relate to two legal disputes, both of which have been resolved. The first of the matters appeared before the FEC. In August 2020, government-watchdog Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint, alleging that then-state Rep. Donalds violated federal law by illegally transferring money from his state PAC to a federal super PAC. The FEC’s general counsel said the commission “should find reason to believe” Donalds violated the Federal Campaign Act of 1971 and that there was sufficient evidence to warrant an investigation. But in a 3-3 vote along party lines in April 2022, commissioners deadlocked on taking any further action, ending the matter. The three Republican commissioners wrote “that there were insufficient facts [to support] the allegations.”

The second dispute involved Casey Askar, who lost to Donalds in a 2020 Republican primary. A text went out on Election Day, purportedly from Donalds, stating that Donalds was dropping out of the race. Donalds took to Facebook Live, where he blamed Askar for the fake messages, leading Askar to sue for defamation that November in a Florida circuit court. Judge Elizabeth Krier issued a summary judgment in favor of Donalds in April, criticizing the quality of the evidence Askar provided. Donalds’ campaign is currently trying to recoup its legal fees from Askar, who has appealed the ruling.

The bulk of the campaign money, $275,000, went to a single firm, Dickinson Wright, which worked with Donalds in the Askar case. The remainder mostly went to Chalmers and Adams, a firm that teamed up with Dickinson Wright on the FEC matter and also provides compliance support.

Federal law bars candidates from spending campaign money on personal expenses, but it allows them to spend it on legal fees arising from political activities.

A spokesperson for Donalds said the congressman established a legal-expense trust in the middle of last year to raise money to reimburse his campaign.