Donald J. Trump’s campaign lodged a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, alleging that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris violated campaign finance laws by transferring Mr. Biden’s campaign funds to Ms. Harris.
The complaint was submitted by the Trump campaign’s general counsel, David Warrington, in response to Mr. Biden’s team renaming its committee as “Harris for President” after Mr. Biden announced he would not seek re-election.
The dispute revolves around the remaining funds in Mr. Biden’s account being transferred to Ms. Harris, who was his former running mate.
“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, as amended,” Mr. Warrington wrote in the complaint.
Mr. Warrington accused the president, Ms. Harris and the campaign treasurer of “flagrantly violating the 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.”
Not all experts in campaign finance law agree with Mr. Warrington’s perspective—some believe that the Harris team is operating within legal bounds, and it remains uncertain what decision the F.E.C. will reach.
Trump’s advisors have indicated their intention to legally thwart the transfer of funds from Mr. Biden to Ms. Harris, hinting at a potential lawsuit.
Instead of pursuing litigation, they have filed a complaint with the F.E.C., but it may not be resolved before Election Day.
An F.E.C. spokeswoman stated that the agency could not provide comments on ongoing enforcement matters.
Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, highlighted the significant fundraising success achieved by Vice President Harris’s expanded team since receiving Mr. Biden’s endorsement.
“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,” he said.
The Trump campaign’s complaint with the F.E.C. argues, among other things, that Ms. Harris isn’t yet the official nominee — that will happen at the Democratic National Convention next month — and that Mr. Biden, by saying he won’t be a candidate in the general election, isn’t in a position to keep the general-election contributions he has received.
“To date, Biden for President has provided no indication that it will return or redesignate all of its general election contributions,” Mr. Warrington wrote. “Thus, each and every general election contribution received by Biden for President is an excessive contribution.”
Mr. Warrington leveled allegations against the campaign’s treasurer and Ms. Harris, claiming they attempted to commit fraud against the F.E.C. by manipulating their forms to change the name and purpose of the committee.
He called for a referral to the Justice Department.
He argued in the letter that the commission should address the matter quickly and that Ms. Harris “is in the process of committing the largest campaign finance violation in American history and she is using the Commission’s own forms to do it.”
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