Trump PAC paid Melania’s stylist $108,000 as a ‘consultant’

Donald Trump’s super PAC Save America paid former first lady Melania Trump’s stylist $108,000 as a “consultant”, amid disclosures showing that the group spent $40m on legal fees during the first half of this year.

The stylist, Hervé Pierre Braillard, was paid the six-figure sum for “strategy consulting” up until June 2023, disclosures to the Federal Election Commission show.

The French-American fashion designer has been Ms Trump’s stylist for years, designing the dress that she wore to the former president’s 2017 inaugural ball.

Working with Oscar de la Renta and Caroline Herrera, Mr Pierre also designed the inaugural gowns for then-First Ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama, Mediaite noted.

The research director for the California Target Book, Rob Pyers wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “despite Trump’s cash crunch, his Save America leadership PAC shelled out another $108,000 in the first six months of the year for Melania Trump’s stylist, Herve Pierre Braillard, while insisting to the FEC that it’s for ‘strategy consulting’”.

Fox News reported in February that Mr Pierre was paid at least $132,000 by the PAC last year, also supposedly for “strategy consulting”.

According to the California Target Book, the stylist was paid $152,500 by the PAC, a figure not matching the FEC number.

Following reports in August last year of payments amounting to $60,000, a spokesperson told Women’s Ware Daily: “Mr Pierre is a world-renowned artist. His work extends to many different fields, not just fashion design. His expertise is utilized for special projects and events.”

“As with every other first lady, there is an after-the-White House life, which involves many other aspects than fashion. I am lucky to have worked in prestigious houses, to have designed [costumes] for ballets and more recently to work in home decor. There are many upcoming projects in this after-the-White House [stage],” the stylist told the outlet.

Lawyer and Trump critic Ron Filipkowski tweeted: “Think of the 4,320 people who sent in $25 thinking they were ‘Saving America’ not realizing it was for Melania’s hairstylist.”

“Weird that a dude can make $18k monthly to style a woman making virtually no public appearances,” Ellen Carmichael, the president of PR firm The Lafayette Company, wrote.

Mr Trump’s legal fees are skyrocketing, and have already surpassed $40m as he awaits indictment on a host of charges related to the January 6 attack and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The Washington Post reported the staggering total cost of the president’s legal expenditures on Saturday, citing numerous sources within Trumpworld. The mounting costs are only likely to grow more burdensome after Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith hands down an indictment in the coming days charging Mr Trump for crimes allegedly committed while he served as president.

And then there’s Georgia: the former president and members of his legal team are expected to face potential charges as a result of Fulton County prosecutors’ investigation into their efforts to change the election results in that state too. A decision on that matter is expected later this month.

The Trump campaign has been reported in recent months to have begun funnelling a greater share of donations directly to the PAC as his legal expenses mount. Complicating the issue: Mr Trump is apparently paying legal fees for a number of those within his inner circle who have been drawn into the investigation — which itself has become an issue that prosecutors are examining.

A spokesman for the former president confirmed this, stating only that Mr Trump was paying for legal representation for potential witnesses in the cases against him “to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed” by a supposedly “unlawful harassment” campaign led by the DoJ.