The RNC has transferred $250,000 to the Minnesota GOP to help pay legal fees in Norm Coleman’s ongoing recount battle against Al Franken for the Minnesota Senate seat. RNC sends $250K for Coleman recount

The Republican National Committee has transferred $250,000 to the Minnesota GOP to help pay legal fees in Norm Coleman’s ongoing recount battle against Al Franken for the Minnesota Senate seat.

A spokesman for the RNC, Alex Conant, said the committee had made Coleman’s legal battle “a priority because we think he has a case and because we think he deserves to return to the Senate.” The money was transferred last month.


“We certainly appreciate the RNC’s commitment to Minnesota as we are continuing full speed ahead,” said Minnesota Republican Party spokeswoman Gina Countryman.

While the RNC cannot legally earmark funds for specific purposes, RNC sources said the deposit was made under the presumption that it would benefit Coleman’s campaign.

The hefty payout underscores the rising costs associated with the ongoing legal battle, which has left Minnesota without a sitting senator for the first seven weeks of the 111th Congress.

Financial disclosure reports show Franken and Coleman spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees since the close of the election. Franken paid his law firm, Perkins Coie, $389,276 in legal bills between Nov. 25 and Dec. 31. Coleman paid Knaak and Kantrud and Dorsey & Whitney $105,000.

Coleman has raised $5 million since the close of the election to fund the legal battle, and the Minnesota Republican Party received a $10,000 transfer from the National Republican Senatorial Committee.