Many conservatives have argued that a failed attempt by Special Counsel Jack Smith to have the Supreme Court expedite one of former President Donald Trump's criminal trials was aimed at sabotaging his campaign.

Yet although Smith's effort was unsuccessful, at least one observer believes that the special counsel's goal might still be achieved. 

Trump's legal fees and lawsuit judgments are piling up

As the Washington Examiner's Mabinty Quarshie noted in an article published on Sunday, Trump's myriad of legal challenges "are only helping to further drain his coffers in the 2024 rematch against President Joe Biden."

In addition to covering the expenses of his four criminal cases, the former president has been hit with hefty judgments in two civil lawsuits.

The first came in January when Trump was ordered to pay more than $83 million in damages to author E. Jean Carroll over her defamation claim.

A month later, New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump must shell out hundreds of millions in a fraud suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

While it initially seemed that Trump would have to come up with $454 million for an appeal bond, the figure was later reduced to $175 million.

GOP political consultant says Trump is a unique candidate

Republican political consultant Matt Mackowiak believes the situation isn't as bad as it seems, telling the Examiner that "Trump does not need spending parity to win."

However, he stressed that the former president still "needs to raise enough money that he can run sophisticated campaigns in the six to eight battleground states that are going to decide the Electoral College."

Fellow Republican consultant Jason Roe maintained that Trump's unique qualities as a candidate mean money will be less decisive this year than it has been in prior elections.

"Spending in the presidential race really has diminishing returns. Trump has so much earned media and he gets his message out through social media," Roe argued.

Trump beat Clinton in 2016 despite her outspending him

"I think a lot of the traditional campaign spending in his case is not as important as it would be for a mere mortal," he insisted.

Quarshie observed how Biden's "campaign had more than $71 million cash on hand in February, double the Trump campaign’s $33.5 million cash on hand."

Nevertheless, she recalled how Trump was able to defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 despite being outspent by a considerable margin.