(Scypre.com) – Former President Donald Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Tuesday, alleging that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris violated campaign finance laws. The complaint centers around the transfer of $91 million in fundraising cash from Biden’s campaign to Harris’s newly launched campaign.
The controversy erupted after President Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on Sunday, following weeks of pressure after a lackluster debate performance. In a surprising move, Biden endorsed Vice President Harris to take his place on the Democratic ticket and transferred his campaign funds to her.
The Trump campaign, in a complaint first reported by The New York Times and obtained by Fox News Digital, accused Harris of attempting a “heist” of Biden’s leftover campaign funds. David Warrington, general counsel for the Trump campaign, labeled the transfer “a brazen money grab” and argued it would constitute the largest campaign finance violation in history. “Kamala 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,” the filing stated. The complaint urged the FEC to take action, stating, “The Commission must not and cannot sit idly by while one candidate takes nearly one hundred million dollars from the authorized committee of another, in violation of the Act and the will of the donors who gave the money in the first place.”
The complaint names Biden, Harris, “Biden for President (aka Harris for President),” and campaign treasurer Keana Spencer as violators of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. It argues that Harris should have filed her own Statement of Candidacy and established her own authorized committee. Instead, she allegedly amended Biden’s campaign forms to designate “Biden for President” as her principal campaign committee, which the Trump campaign claims is illegal. “There is no mechanism under the Act for one individual to end another’s federal candidacy by simply amending the other’s Form 2,” the complaint asserts. The filing also references a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519 for altering a document submitted to a federal agency.
In response, the Harris campaign dismissed the complaint as “baseless.” A spokesperson for the campaign told Fox News Digital, “Team Harris will continue to build on our more than 250 coordinated offices and more than 1,300 coordinated staffers across the battleground states – just like we built on the $240 million cash on hand that we had at launch this week, raising $100 million in our first 36 hours and signing up 58,000 volunteers.” The statement also criticized Republicans for their legal maneuvers, suggesting that such tactics distract them while Democrats focus on mobilizing volunteers, engaging voters, and winning the election.
Despite the legal challenges, Harris’s campaign has seen a significant boost in fundraising, breaking records with a $100 million haul since Biden’s withdrawal and her subsequent candidacy announcement. Biden had struggled with fundraising after a difficult debate on June 27, but Harris’s entry into the race has energized Democratic donors.
In her first speech following Biden’s departure, Harris addressed Biden’s campaign staff, urging them to stay on and support her campaign with the election just over 100 days away. “We have a lot of work to do, and I need each and every one of you to help carry this campaign to victory,” Harris told the staffers.
The unfolding drama adds another layer of complexity to an already contentious election season, with both parties gearing up for a fierce battle in November. As the FEC reviews the complaint, the political landscape continues to shift, setting the stage for what promises to be a historic election.