Washington DC - President Joe Biden reportedly used campaign donations to pay off his legal bills during last year's special counsel probe into his handling of classified government documents.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) reportedly paid over $1.5 million toward lawyers and law firms representing Biden during the investigation, an Axios review has found.

Special counsel Robert Hur launched the probe in January 2023 after classified documents from Biden's time as vice president turned up at his home and his office.

The DNC reportedly gave $1.05 million to lead Biden attorney Bob Bauer's limited liability company between July 2023 to February 2024.

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Starting in July 2023, the DNC upped its monthly transfers to the Hemenway & Barnes law firm from $15,000 to $100,000. Hur's report listed one of their attorneys, Jennifer Miller, as representing Biden.

It is unclear how much of the Hemenway & Barnes payments contributed to Biden's defense in the classified documents case, and how much went toward other work the firm was doing for the DNC.

The DNC has declined to specify how much it spent on legal fees related to the probe.

Hur ultimately chose not to pursue charges after wrapping up the case.

The news comes as Biden's campaign team has repeatedly criticized presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for using campaign funds to pay legal fees in his multiple criminal indictments.

As recently as last week, the Biden campaign's finance chair Rufus Gifford told MSNBC that "every single time you give to the [Biden-Harris] campaign, we're going straight to talk to voters."

"We are not spending money on legal bills or hawking gold sneakers," Gifford added in reference to the likely GOP nominee.

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Trump has almost certainly spent more on legal bills since 2022, diverting funds from his Save America PAC to help cover mounting costs – a point the DNC was quick to emphasize.

DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd commented to Axios, "There is no comparison – the DNC does not spend a single penny of grassroots donors' money on legal bills – unlike Donald Trump, who actively solicits legal fees from his supporters and has drawn down every bank account he can get his hands on, like a personal piggy bank."