The RNC isn't paying Trump's legal bills over the Mar-a-Lago raid despite having bankrolled his personal lawyers in the past, report says

• The RNC won't foot Trump's legal bills relating to the Mar-a-Lago raid, Politico reported.
• It's a departure from the committee's previous willingness to cover some of his personal legal fees.

The Republican National Committee is not paying former President Donald Trump's legal fees connected to the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, Politico reported.

It signals another move away from the committee's previous willingness to support Trump's personal legal battles.

In July, ABC News reported that the committee had told Trump it would no longer cover his legal fees if he decides on a 2024 presidential run. It said that this would contravene its "neutrality policy" during primaries, per ABC News.

Trump has not declared an intention to run in 2024, and it's unclear if he approached the RNC over legal bills since the FBI search of his Florida home.

The Mar-a-Lago raid on August 8 dramatically upped the stakes in an ongoing federal attempt to retrieve presidential documents stored there. Trump sued the government on August 22, saying the search was politically motivated and that he would be the "clear frontrunner" if he did decide to run.

Compared to Trump and his allies, the RNC has been relatively silent about the FBI's actions, saying little on social media after two early press releases accusing Democrats of weaponizing government bureaucracy. (Biden's White House said it was unaware of the DOJ's moves until the raid happened.)

The Twitter feed of the committee's press spokesperson, Emma Vaughn, has been similarly mute on the topic.

But the committee has previously shown willingness to help take on Trump's personal legal fights in criminal investigations since he left office.

As of December last year, the committee had agreed to foot the bill for around $1.6 million in legal fees, as The New York Times reported.

At least $121,000 of this relates to two criminal probes, conducted by the Manhattan and New York District Attorneys' offices, into the Trump Organization's business dealings, per The Washington Post.

At the time, Vaughn told The Post that "defending President Trump and his record of achievement is critical to the GOP," and that it was "entirely appropriate" to help.

Politico's report that the RNC is not helping in the case of the Mar-a-Lago raid emerges as Trump adds a new name to his legal team, the former Florida solicitor general Chris Kise.

Kise has a reputation as a heavyweight who has successfully argued four Supreme Court cases and has close ties to former Florida Gov. Rick Scott and current Gov. Ron DeSantis, Politico reported.

Politico said it learned of the RNC decision from an unnamed source familiar with the matter. The RNC's spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's out-of-hours request for comment.