Incoming: Campaign Finance Litigation?
This could prove interesting, to say the least—this per the WaPo:
Kamala Harris cannot use Biden’s election campaign funds – WaPo
Some Republican-aligned lawyers claim she can’t touch the millions that had been raised for the president’s 2024 bid
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been tapped by US President Joe Biden to run in his place, has no authority to control funds raised by his election campaign, the Washington Post (WaPo) has reported, citing finance lawyers for the Republican Party (GOP). An attempt to use the money could result in a lawsuit, the publication added.
After announcing his withdrawal from the US presidential election race on Sunday, Biden endorsed Harris, his running mate, to replace him on the ballot. His campaign committee quickly filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for the campaign to be re-designated as “Harris for President.”
According to WaPo, Democratic lawyers and operatives have argued that installing Harris as the nominee was the easiest solution for the party, as her name is already on the paperwork, and the money was raised for Harris, alongside Biden, meaning that she is allowed to use it. As of the end of June, the Biden campaign reported having $95 million in its coffers.
Another option under the campaign legislation would be to refund the money to donors. Any new presidential candidates would have to launch their fundraising campaigns from scratch, as just over three months are left until the election.
Read more
According to GOP-aligned campaign finance lawyers, the Biden campaign does not have the legal authority to appoint Harris and give her control of the funds. The step “is all but certain” to be challenged before the FEC or in court, they argue, as cited by WaPo.
Prominent GOP campaign finance lawyer Charlie Spies told the publication that both Biden and Harris would have to have been officially nominated by the Democratic Party at its convention next month before any kind of funding handoff could occur.
A month delay of funding is a long time in a political campaign.
Only in that situation [i.e., Harris being officially nominated, does], campaign finance law allows a vice-presidential nominee to take control of the campaign’s depository if the presidential nominee withdraws, he noted.
”Biden can’t transfer his money to Harris because it was raised under his own name, and there is no legal mechanism for it to have been raised jointly with Harris before they were their party’s nominees,” Spies said.
”A campaign cannot keep money for an election the candidate isn’t running in.” Craig Engle, a former lawyer for an FEC commission told CNN.
The six-member FEC panel that would rule on such matters has long been evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, WaPo notes. The partisan divide means the commissioners could deadlock on the issue, potentially leading to litigation in court.
READ MORE: Trump donations to Harris revealed
According to Sean Cooksey, a Republican who holds the post of FEC chairman, the situation is unprecedented under current campaign finance law, and it “raises a host of open questions about whether it is legal, what limits apply and what contributors’ rights are.”
Could get very messy very fast.
Be a real shame if these people got all tangled up in some kind of “lawfare” issue wouldn’t it!
Thinking about things this morning we have about 16 weeks until the election and that is a long time in Politics. I believe one of the main motivations of Trump running was to get revenge on Biden for 2020 and now that is gone. I do think, like it or not, Kamala is the nominee. The concern I have is ,is the Trump campaign ready to do a 180 to deal with Harris and will Trump handle this correctly. Also is it possible the Trump Campaign has or will peak too soon to win in November? While Harris is a terrible candidate and as a woman candidate, will Democrats dismiss her gaffe’s and incompetence and still vote for her for historic reasons? It is entirely possible Trump loses but the Republicans will win the downstream races and control the House and the Senate to stop really disastrous legislation from getting through. The next three weeks will be crucial and let’s see how their convention unfolds. Trump needs to concentrate on Harris in her professional career and leave the personal stuff for others to do. She has been an abysmal failure at everything she has been involved in.