Incoming Trump administration officials are being urged to buy legal insurance that would pay for a lawyer if they get wrapped up in an investigation over the next four years. According to NBC News, the Trump transition team told some staffers to price and buy professional liability insurance.
The report states former members of the administration purchased policies during Trump’s first impeachment.
“You need legal representation if you’re facing people who have the arms of the government at their disposal,” one former official told NBC. “It’s very intimidating when you don’t have people on your side to tell you what you can do and what circumstances you might be walking into.”
Another former official said not getting it, “would be reckless if you have any assets to protect — the house, college funds, whatever.”
There were multiple investigations that required Trump aides to lawyer up, including Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and the Jan. 6 investigative committee.
Former Trump aides Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro both served time in prison for defying Congressional subpoenas related to the Jan. 6 probe. Navarro asked the judge for extra time to prepare for trial, partly due to his limited financial resources and the high cost of securing representation.
“This is going to cost a half a million dollars, from what I’m being told,” Navarro told Fox News in an interview. “I’ll be eating dog food if I stay out of jail.”
Another West Wing aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, had to find her own attorney before she testified before the Jan. 6 committee. The interview transcript revealed she approached estranged family members, including her father, to help pay her legal bills.
Attorney’s fees can be overwhelming for individuals on a government salary. In the first six months of 2022, Trump’s political committees paid $2.2 million to six law firms representing witnesses before the Jan. 6 committee.
