Report: Trump Lawyer Secured $3M Advance

A recently hired member of Donald Trump's legal team apparently has some formidable negotiating skills. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that Chris Kise, a respected Florida lawyer who has served as the state's solicitor general, secured a $3 million advance to represent Trump in the Justice Department's investigation of classifed documents stored at Mar-a-Lago. The Journal's sources say other lawyers approached by Trump allies turned the job down because they didn't believe the former president would follow their advice—and Trump has a reputation for not paying his lawyers.

Kise has won four cases before the US Supreme Court and has close ties to Republican politicians in Florida including Gov. Ron DeSantis. Sources tell Politico that the $3 million advance is being paid by Trump's Save America PAC, the former president's main fundraising vehicle, which is also facing Justice Department scrutiny. The sources say Kise might also represent Trump in the investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and he has leeway to bill for more than $3 million if the cases drag on. Kise left the law firm Foley & Lardner, where he had been for more than a decade, to take the Trump assignment last month, CNN reports. (In Georgia, Trump has hired an attorney who uses the hashtag #BillionDollarLawyer.)