
(RepublicanReport.org) – Joe Biden is no longer running in the 2024 election. On Sunday, July 21, the president announced in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account that he was stepping down from the November race for the good of the country and would instead focus on finishing out his term. He then endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who vowed to “earn” the nomination next month at the Democratic National Convention. Now, former President Donald Trump has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over the transfer of money from Biden’s campaign to Harris’.
The Coffers
When Biden announced he was no longer seeking a second term, he had more than $90 million in his war chest to help his campaign against Trump, who officially secured the nomination this month. His campaign name officially changed to Harris’, which purportedly gives her access to that money. Not only that, but she managed to secure an additional $126 million in donations in the days following the announcement. That gives her quite a bit of money to take on Trump’s campaign.
Not So Fast…
On Tuesday, July 23, Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the FEC. General counsel David Warrington called the move a “brazen cash grab” and the campaign’s rollover of the money “a $91.5 million dollar heist.” He further claimed it was the “biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended” because Biden and Harris made and received “an excessive contribution of nearly one hundred million dollars.”
Warrington also accused the campaign of filing false forms in order “to repurpose one candidate’s principal campaign committee for the use of another candidate.” Further, the campaign says she’s not entitled to the funds because there has been no official nomination.
Legal experts in the campaign finance sector disagree. They purport that since Harris was already on the ticket — since she was running alongside Biden as his vice president — she was entitled to access to the money. She isn’t a new addition; she was already on the ticket. Per federal election laws, former FEC attorney Adav Noti says the committee has been Harris’ as well since 2020 when she and Biden first ran together.
It’s not clear how the FEC will rule on the matter, though the Trump campaign has asked the body to expedite its ruling.
Harris has not yet been nominated, though she has secured enough delegate support to receive it next month at the DNC.
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