Donald Trump to pay legal bills of staff questioned in Russia probe, says official

US president Donald Trump intends to spend at least US$430,000 of his own money to help pay the legal bills of staff and campaign aides related to the investigations into Russian election meddling in the 2016 election, a White House official said.

It is the first such commitment by Mr Trump, who has dismissed the ongoing investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia as a "witch hunt" invented by Democrats to explain Hillary Clinton's loss.