- Trump has all but declared a presidential bid in 2024. But once he does, he's subject to tighter rules.
- A Democratic group is accusing Trump of violating the law by not officially declaring his candidacy.
- "We're not supposed to be talking about it yet from the standpoint of campaign finance laws," Trump said in September.
Democratic Super PAC American Bridge filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Monday accusing former President Donald Trump of violating federal campaign finance laws by not formally declaring that he's running for president in 2024.
Trump, ousted from the White House is 2020 but still in firm control of the Republican Party, has all but admitted that he intends to seek the presidency for a third time.
In January, he referred to himself as the "45th and the 47th" president during a round of golf, and just over the weekend at a rally in South Carolina, he declared that, "in 2024, we are going to take back that beautiful, beautiful White House. I wonder who will do that, I wonder, I wonder."
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 13, 2022
According to American Bridge, Trump is using his "Save America PAC" — currently registered as a political committee in support of multiple different candidates — as a vehicle for his own 2024 ambitions, and must register his PAC as a presidential campaign committee in order to comply with the law.
That would subject him to tighter campaign finance regulations that he currently enjoys, including a $2,900 limit on individual political contributions until the 2024 general election.
The group is pointing Trump's own statements in recent months to build their case.
In one instance, Trump even seemed to acknowledge that he was withholding an official declaration of his candidacy in order to skirt campaign finance regulations.
"I know what I'm going to do, but we're not supposed to be talking about it yet from the standpoint of campaign finance laws," Trump said in September when asked about a potential 2024 bid.
The group is asking the commission to investigate the matter and "fine Mr. Trump the maximum amount permitted by law" if he's found in violation of the law.
In response, Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich told the New York Times, which first reported on the complaint, that Democrats were "busy filing frivolous complaints that have zero merit."
As Insider previously reported, experts disagree on whether Trump can actually be found in contravention of the law in this case.
"If he starts to spend money pursuing a run for office, that could trigger candidacy," Ken Gross, former associate general counsel of the FEC, told Insider in January. "Making such a statement on a golf course, possibly in jest, about becoming the 47th president doesn't quite get you there."
Former Democratic FEC commissioner Ann Ravel disagrees.
"This appears to be a decision to run, since he did not qualify it by saying 'if I run' — but stated that he planned to be the 47th President," she told Insider in January, referring to the golf course incident. "So if he starts raising money, he must register as a candidate to disclose all his expenditures and contributions."
American Bridge says Trump has raised over $1 million and spent over $100,000 each week since declaring at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February that "we're going to be doing it again a third time."
Regardless of the merits of the complaint, it's unlikely that the FEC will take action any time soon.
The commission still has a significant backlog of cases as the result of an extended period in which the body lacked a quorum, and the committee recently let Trump off the hook for "soft money" campaign finance violations that his campaign had even acknowledged.