Georgia's Republican party is reportedly on the hook for approximately $1 million in mostly Donald Trump-related legal defense fees since last year.
It began when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis started to explore criminal charges against the former president and 18 others, including party officials, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"The state party has ramped up fundraising to defend its GOP electors indicted in the Trump case, and federal reports show it spent about $370,000 in July and August on legal fees," the outlet reported Wednesday. "Earlier this summer The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the Georgia GOP had spent more than $500,000 on legal fees in the first half of 2023, much of it to represent those involved in the Trump investigation."
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
"In all, the Georgia GOP has spent more than $1 million on legal fees since the beginning of last year, most of it for the Trump election interference case."
Further, according to the report, the legal troubles have driven a wedge between the state's party and key figures.
"The steep legal bills are one reason Gov. Brian Kemp has distanced himself from the state GOP and continues to build his own fundraising organization to mobilize Georgia Republicans," the report states. "The GOP financial arrangement came into clearer focus earlier this year when Shafer announced he wouldn’t seek another term and praised the party’s executive committee for agreeing to cover the legal fees in his farewell dispatch."
