Complaint About Trump From American Bridge to the Federal Election Commission

AMERICAN

BRIDGE

21ST CENTURY

Once he made the private decision to become a candidate, Mr. Trump was obligated to file a Statement of Candidacy with the Commission within 15 days of receiving contributions or making expenditures of more than $5,000 to influence his election, either directly or through third parties. 26 This Statement of Candidacy has not yet been filed. Yet, subsequent to several of his public remarks about a 2024 candidacy, Mr. Trump’s leadership committee, Save America, has spent more than $100,000 per week on Facebook ads and has consistently raised more than $1 million per week.27 Save America’s ads are clearly an attempt to influence Mr. Trump’s election to federal office in 2024.28 Commission regulations specify that an individual becomes a federal candidate when he has 1) consented to expenditures beyond $5,000 on his behalf, and 2) those expenditures have been made.29 Because he sponsors Save America, Donald Trump has consented to Save America’s expenditures on his behalf, which greatly exceed $5,000, and thus he has become a federal candidate. ³

30

Google Transparency Report, Save America Joint Fundraising Committee (Feb. 9, 2022, 3:30 P.M.), https://transparencyreport.google.com/political

ads/advertiser/AR386358112438714368/creative/CR536153033986277376 (“Biden has turned his back on America, and completely failed the American people. Biden is Weak. We all know it.”). 26 52 U.S.C. § 30101(2)(B); 11 C.F.R. § 100.3(a).

27 Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey, Trump Looks To 2024, Commanding a Fundraising Juggernaut, as He Skirts Social Media Bans, WASH. POST (Oct. 30, 2021, 6:00 AM),

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-fundraising/2021/10/29/5b5a2e64-31b1-11ec-ale5

07223c50280a_story.html.

28 Kayla Gogarty, Facebook Is Letting Trump’s PAC Run Ads Implying He Is The “True President”, MEDIA MATTERS (Oct. 4, 2021, 3:10 PM), https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/facebook-letting-trumps-pac-runads-implying-he-true-president (“Our latest study has found that Trump’s PAC has created over 1,600 ads since we last reported in August. Among these new ads, 186 pushed election misinformation, 322 were about Trump’s September rally in Georgia, and 139 were about Trump’s October rally in Iowa.”).

11 C.F.R. § 100.3(a)(2).

30 See, e.g., Jason Lange & Alexandra Ulmer, Trump Fundraising Slows but Still Yields Over $100 Million in Cash, REUTERS (Feb. 1, 2022, 1:55 AM), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-fundraising-groups-haveover-122-mln-cash-2022-01-31/ (“Trump is spending large sums to hold political rallies that ostensibly support Republican candidates but which feature his own speeches as the main event.”).

800 Maine Ave SW, suite 400 Washington DC 20024 | 202.747.2060

29