Matt Gaetz Has Spent $85,626 Of Campaign Contributions on Legal Fees Since Last July

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been a prolific fundraiser, bringing in over $1.8 million in campaign contributions in the first quarter of 2021 and ending the reporting period with over $2 million cash in hand. That’s good news for the embattled congressman, because he’s also racked up nearly $90,000 in legal bills since last summer — and questions are being raised about whether those were proper expenditures.

Gaetz has spent $85,626 from his campaign account on legal fees since July 2020, as first reported by NBCLX reporter Noah Pransky. The campaign finance reports do not disclose the purpose of the legal fees, but the main law firm listed, Venable, LLP is a Washington-based firm that specializes in Congressional investigations. From 2016 to 2019, Gaetz spent only $9,113 on legal fees, according to his campaign finance reports for that period.

As Pransky notes, the timing of the increase in legal fees appears to coincide with events in the unfolding scandal swirling around Gaetz and several of his friends.

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#8217;s first payments to Venable, LLP came just weeks after former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg was first indicted. The federal indictment against Greenberg has been amended four times so far and includes 33 separate counts. Greenberg has been widely reported to be cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for a plea deal to be announced in the coming weeks.

Several of the allegations against Greenberg allegedly involve Gaetz as well, although he has not been charged and has vociferously denied any wrongdoing. He has acknowledged that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation, one which began during the Trump administration under then-Attorney General Bill Barr. Federal agents also obtained a search warrant to seize Gaetz’s cell phone back in December.

Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee announced they had opened an investigation into the allegations against Gaetz. Campaign funds are allowed to be spent for legal fees related to a member of Congress’ official duties in office, so preparing for and responding to that House Ethics Investigation seems to be a proper expenditure.

However, if Gaetz has been using campaign funds to pay for legal counsel related to personal legal issues, such as any potential criminal charges against him, that could be a violation of federal campaign finance laws. It can be a difficult violation to prove, due to the confidentiality protections over legal services.