Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s legal defense fund raised more than $102,000 in the month after President Donald Trump accused her of sedition, according to a new financial document obtained by NOTUS.
The Senator Slotkin Legal Defense Fund’s windfall from Dec. 4 through Dec. 31 came almost exclusively from Democratic political action committees affiliated with other senators.
The Democratic leadership PACs that donated are associated with Sens. Adam Schiff, Chris Coons, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Patty Murray, Cory Booker, Maggie Hassan, Alex Padilla, Andy Kim and Mark Kelly. Slotkin’s own leadership PAC also donated.
Only one named individual donated to Slotkin’s defense fund in December — philanthropist Wendy Greeney.
The majority of the fund’s expenditures went to two law firms, WilmerHale and the Elias Law Group, led by Democratic superlawyer Marc Elias.
Trump said in late November that Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan and former CIA analyst, had engaged in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH” after she appeared in a video with Kelly and several House lawmakers. In it, they told members of the military that they could refuse “illegal” orders.
Days after, the two senators created legal defense funds to brace for FBI and Defense Department investigations.
The White House and Slotkin’s office did not immediately respond to NOTUS’ request for comment.
Schiff, a Democrat from California, raised over $1 million last year for his own legal defense fund, which he formed in August.
Schiff’s fund garnered support from various Democratic leadership PACs, a Pulitzer Prize winner and a Native American tribe during the five-month period after Trump accused Schiff of corruption and mortgage fraud. The Department of Justice investigated Schiff, who denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.
WilmerHale was also a main recipient of cash from Schiff’s legal defense fund.
Senators’ legal defense funds are subject to strict fundraising and disclosure rules, with individual donations capped at $10,000. The funds must themselves file quarterly reports with the Senate Ethics Committee identifying donors who have given more than $25.
Several classes of people and entities — corporations, unions, lobbyists, foreign agents and Senate employees among them — are prohibited from contributing at all.
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