Trump’s powers are also not as great as they once were. Without the presidency and the ability to dangle pardons as a reward for loyalty, he has much less leverage over his co-conspirators to ensure their silence. Trump’s legal fees are being paid by his campaign committees and associated super PACs instead of from his own pocket. According to the Associated Press, Trump’s legal fees now exceed those of the Democratic National Committee, the Republican National Committee, and the GOP’s Senate fundraising arm combined.
Many of the other defendants caught up in Trump’s myriad schemes aren’t so lucky. Some have turned to crowdfunding or wealthy benefactors to fund their legal teams. A few have thrown in the towel completely. Jenna Ellis, one of the most ferocious Trump lawyers in the aftermath of the 2020 election, accepted a plea deal with Georgia prosecutors in October. “If I knew then what I know now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these postelection challenges,” she said in a court hearing. Other top figures like Sidney Powell and Ken Chesebro have taken similar deals; Chesebro is reportedly cooperating with prosecutors in multiple states where the fake-elector plot took place.
Trump, for his part, is continuing to lie and obfuscate his way through proceedings. “Based on the above, and the fact that our unassailable final expert witness has been so strong and irrefutable in his testimony, which will conclude on Tuesday, & that I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say other than that this is a complete & total election interference (Biden campaign!) witch hunt, that will do nothing but keep businesses out of New York, I will not be testifying on Monday,” Trump wrote at the end of a lengthy jeremiad on Truth Social. “MAGA!”