On Tuesday, the campaign for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump filed an official complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that accused Joe Biden and Kamala Harris of violating campaign finance law.
The complaint framed a cash transfer of $91 million from Biden to Harris in the wake of Biden dropping out of the race as a “heist” and the “largest campaign finance violation in American history.”
Complaint Filed
The complaint was filed with the FEC and names Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, the Biden campaign, and campaign treasurer Keana Spencer.
This complaint argues that a fund transfer between Biden and Harris would be “little more than a thinly veiled $91.5 million excessive contribution from one presidential candidate to another.”
Money Grab
Trump campaign general counsel David Warrington decried the money transfer for being so large, arguing it must be a similarly large finance law violation.
“Kamala Harris is seeking to perpetrate a $91.5 million dollar heist of Joe Biden’s leftover campaign cash — a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971,” said the complaint.
Violating the Act
The Trump campaign is accusing the now-Harris campaign of violating this act and filing fraudulent forms.
“The complaint directly accuses those named of “flagrantly violating the [Federal Election Campaign] Act by making and receiving an excessive contribution of nearly one hundred million dollars, and for filing fraudulent forms with the Commission purporting to repurpose one candidate’s principal campaign committee for the use of another candidate.”
No Provision
Warrington in the complaint argued that there is no provision in federal finance law that would allow such an act to occur.
“There is no provision in federal campaign finance law for Kamala Harris to take over Joe Biden’s candidacy now by quite literally attempting to become him via an amendment of his Form 2, assuming control of his campaign by amending Form 1, and making off with all of his cash,” wrote Warrington.
Over the Limit
The complaint attempts to demonstrate the absurdity of what is being done by Joe Biden’s old campaign.
“Contributions by federal candidate committees to other federal candidates are limited to $2,000. Yet, Biden for President is seeking to make an excessive contribution over approximately $91 million dollars — more than 45,000 times the legal limit,” said Warrington.
Call for Immediate Action
The Trump campaign is calling for the FEC to take action to “immediately open an enforcement matter, seek to enjoin this unprecedented illegal transfer, assess a civil penalty commensurate with the size and scale of this brazen violation, and refer this matter to the Department of Justice for prosecution as a knowing and willful violation of federal law.”
CNN reports that it is unlikely that the FEC will take any action on the complaint until long after the general election has passed, citing a previously observed slow process on enforcement actions.
Jealous Republicans
In response to the FEC complaint, Harris campaign spokesperson Charles Kretchmer Lutvak gave a statement accusing Republicans of jealousy over their fundraising success.
“Republicans may be jealous that Democrats are energized to defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, but baseless legal claims – like the ones they’ve made for years to try to suppress votes and steal elections – will only distract them while we sign up volunteers, talk to voters, and win this election,” said Lutvak.
Record Fundraising
While the Harris campaign is seeking the transfer of funds from the now-defunct Biden campaign, they also set a record for political donations in the hours following the announcement of Harris as the new candidate.
The Harris campaign raised “$100 million in our first 36 hours and [signed] up 58,000 volunteers,” the Lutvak statement said.
Legal Dispute
Experts of federal finance law are split on the legality of the campaign finance transfer. While FEC rules are strict on cash transfers, it’s possible that the transfer will be allowed because Harris was on the same ticket during the Biden campaign when the donations were solicited.
“I don’t think most campaign finance lawyers believe that this is a best reading of the law,” Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA’s law school said of the Trump campaign’s complaint. “That doesn’t mean it can’t get tied up in FEC proceedings for years.”
Disagreement Among Experts
Charlie Spies, a Republican election lawyer, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal before Biden left the race describing a procedure the president would have to follow to transfer funds.
“If President Biden is committed to passing the torch to his vice president, and wants to be able to seed her campaign with the current Biden for President campaign war chest, he’ll first have to become his party’s legal nominee,” wrote Spies.
One Commissioner Already Supports the Transfer
Democrat Dara Lindenbaum, a Federal Election Commissioner, believed that Harris was entitled to Biden’s funds because they were raised for both the president and the vice president.
“If Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic Party nominee, she gets access to the Joe Biden campaign funds,” Lindenbaum wrote on X.
