Hello everyone, buckle up because we’ve got a political story that’s turning heads. Last week, Citizens United, alongside several state Republican Party chapters, filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The allegation? A massive $96 million campaign finance violation following Biden’s decision to bow out of the 2024 presidential race.
Was the War Chest Transfer From Biden to Harris Legal?
https://t.co/o0nbG6sVwO— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 22, 2024
So, here’s the scoop: On July 21, 2024, Biden announced he would not seek re-election, a move that came weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. But what’s really raising eyebrows is what happened next. According to the complaint, Biden’s campaign, with its hefty $96 million war chest, was transferred over to Kamala Harris after a name change on FEC paperwork, rebranding the Biden for President committee to Harris for President.
This transfer is what’s at the heart of the complaint. Filed on July 24, the document claims that this maneuver constitutes an unprecedented violation of federal law, specifically 52 U.S.C. § 30116(f). The complaint highlights that, at the time of this transfer, neither Biden nor Harris were officially the Democratic nominees for the 2024 general election. Furthermore, the complaint points out that while Harris officially filed paperwork with the FEC stating she was no longer seeking re-election as Vice President, Biden apparently didn’t file any corresponding paperwork to confirm his withdrawal from the presidential race.
This FEC complaint makes crystal clear that the Harris maneuver to take almost $100M of Biden campaign $ was illegal. Harris is likely assuming that @FEC can’t move quickly enough to stop her before the election, but that doesn’t make it legal! https://t.co/cVc8CVjf41
— Charlie Spies (@cspiesdc) July 25, 2024
The Republicans argue that this move allowed Harris to inherit Biden’s massive campaign funds and other assets, effectively resulting in what they claim is an excessive contribution to her campaign. The complaint describes this as a “brazen misappropriation of campaign funds” and calls on the FEC to immediately investigate and take enforcement action.
House Democrats are now trying to silence me as @FEC Chairman for raising questions about President Biden giving VP Harris all of his campaign cash. All I did was quote federal regulations.
Why are Democrats afraid of the law? pic.twitter.com/pYPJOSkPbh
— Sean Cooksey (@SeanJCooksey) July 23, 2024
Now, the FEC’s next steps are still up in the air. It’s unclear whether the Commission will launch a formal review into these allegations. But the complaint has already sparked tensions, with reports of Democrats on Capitol Hill allegedly pressuring FEC Chairman Sean Cooksey after he raised questions about the legality of the fund transfer.