President Trump’s former lead lawyer for the special counsel investigation discussed the prospect of directing funds raised in connection with the president toward two former top campaign aides facing charges in the inquiry at the time, according to two people familiar with the plan.

The lawyer, John M. Dowd, talked with others close to the case in the months before he left the legal team in March about the possibility of directing the money toward Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, and Rick Gates, the campaign’s deputy chairman. Both men have pleaded guilty to charges brought by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and Mr. Manafort was also convicted at a trial last month on monetary fraud charges in the inquiry.

Mr. Dowd told associates of Mr. Trump in a Feb. 22 email that the men needed money and that he intended to donate $25,000 to Mr. Manafort’s defense fund, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported his plan.

Mr. Dowd said in an email that he decided not to donate to Mr. Manafort after being counseled against it and noted that he had no control over the money in the Patriot Legal Defense Fund, which was set up to cover expenses for aides to Mr. Trump who have been subpoenaed or called for questioning in the investigation.