By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
McALLEN, Texas |...Now this: Florida Republicans want to the state's taxpayers to pay for Donald Trump's mounting legal bills. Okay, you ask, so how much cash are we talking about, 'cause the Orange One loves dealing in cash - especially if it's coming his way.
$5 million.
But, but, but isn't Trump a billionaire? And isn't he already receiving a load of contributions from his many MAGA supporters?
The latest Trump Fund comes in a proposal from Florida State Sen. Ileana Garcia, shown at right in photo above. She is a die-hard Trump fan and a former prisoner in her native Cuba. The funding would come from taxpayers and not her bank account.
This from the MiamiHerald.com: [ Some Florida Republicans want millions to go toward former President Donald Trump’s legal fees. And they want residents to foot the bill.
State Sen. Garcia has authored a proposal that could grant up to $5 million to the Republican frontrunner, who has been indicted four times. The bill doesn’t name-drop the presidential hopeful but says the funds would be provided to "qualified persons" who have been "subject to political discrimination" to "pay for legal fees incurred as a result of criminal charges brought by a U.S. public entity."
For a person to qualify, they must meet the presidential eligibility requirements and be a legal resident of the state.
Trump is the only president in American history to have faced criminal charges.
Trump is charged in two federal cases, one related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and the other related to the alleged mishandling of highly classified documents at Mar-A-Lago. He’s also charged in Georgia with racketeering over attempting to subvert the 2020 election results and in New York with falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments.
The money would come from the Freedom Fighters Trust Fund, which Garcia filed a bill to create. ]
We're okay with Florida proceeding with this nutty idea (I mean, what's next - Florida buying Mar-a-Lago for a billion and then gifting it to Trump? Don't laugh.)
The question for us, and this is all about taxpayers, is whether Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, a dude who has pretty much copied every move Florida has made to stem that phantom migrant invasion at the Mexican border, will up and say he'll chip-in another $5 million for Trump.
Abbott's undying allegiance to Trump is well-documented.
He could say it today or tomorrow and Texans would immediately be on the hook for that cash sent off on direct-deposit to Trump. Just like that - swiftly and neatly. And politically expedient. Got any other ideas, Republicans?
Surely, you do.
There have to be a good dozen Texas state senators in the Ileana Garcia mold. Or perhaps the leadership, eh?
Hell-o, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Good morning, Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Yeah, those Texans...
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