Sam's Legal Defense Fund

 
As is often repeated in this clip  alone (nearly 20 times!), my name is Sam Patten, and I’ve made some mistakes in the last couple years.  I have, quite literally, lived with the Russian collusion investigation day and night since 2017.
 
I’d like to be upfront about my mistakes.  I broke the law when I failed to register under Foreign Agents Registration Act for my work in helping my former Ukrainian client tell his story.  I pleaded guilty to this, making me the ninth conviction under this statute since World War II.
 
It was also wrong of me to allow my clients to reimburse me for tickets I bought at their request to Donald Trump’s 2017 Inauguration.  Also, before I was interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee early last year, I should have shared with them the handful of emails about how I purchased those tickets along the 1,300 pages of documents that I did voluntarily share with them about the subjects they’d summoned me to discuss.  I’m very sorry about all of that, and I do own my mistakes.
 
Since then, I’ve worked hard to make amends.  On top of the five hours I spent being interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, I was interviewed for nearly 30 hours by the U.S. Department of Justice, which credited me as providing “substantial assistance” for their investigation.
 
I’m not one to make excuses for my mistakes, or to blame them on others.  Throughout my life, I have tried to hold true to the saying “the buck stops here.”  But speaking of bucks, I should point out that the Russia investigation has financially destroyed me.  Putting aside the strain this has put on my family through public shunning and death threats, and the reputational destruction, the legal costs have buried me. Even pleading guilty in America today is an expensive business – I had to cash in my retirement savings and am still in debt to my lawyers.
 
If this makes you think: “serves you right,” then you are entitled to that opinion and I won’t waste any more of your time.  But if you are one of the many millions of Americans who have questions about the Russia investigation, from whence it came and the trail of human wreckage that it left in its wake, please give me just another minute.  Remember, Special Counsel Robert Mueller found, after exhaustive investigation, that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians.
 
A lot of people can tell you I’m not a bad guy.  I’ve spent my career going to dangerous places, sometimes putting my life on the line, to help people exercise their democratic rights.  I’ve defended political prisoners, advocated for human rights, and served our own government as well.  In just about every job I’ve ever had, I’ve put other people first. In fact, I got in trouble for doing just that, though in the matter for which I bear criminal responsibility I have only myself to blame.
 
Now I have to rebuild my life.  It won’t be easy, but few things in life are, and I’m no stranger to challenges.  The government has taken my passport so I can’t travel abroad right now, which is how I’ve made my living over the past twenty years.  Maybe there’s some democracy work to be done right here at home.  As I see others raise money to pay their legal bills incurred by the Russia investigation, I think I too can make a direct ask: can you help me out?
 
Unlike the most salacious voices in the media riding this national nightmare for ratings and profits, I’ve given up everything – financially speaking – that I have.  And I still owe my faithful and hard-working lawyers more money.
 
If you would consider making a modest contribution to paying off my legal debts, I would be very grateful.
 
With appreciation for your consideration, I am,
 
Sincerely,
 
Sam Patten