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US Watchdogs Seek Investigation Into Law Violations by Jeb Bush

© AFP 2023 / JIM WATSONGeorge W. Bush (L) looks on as his brother Jeb Bush
George W. Bush (L) looks on as his brother  Jeb Bush - Sputnik International
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Two US campaign finance watchdogs, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center, addressed the US Department of Justice (DoJ) Wednesday requesting an investigation into the alleged violation of election law by the potential 2016 US Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to a letter to the DoJ, published on the Campaign Legal Center website, the two groups asked the department "to investigate whether Republican presidential candidate and former Governor Jeb Bush and an individual-candidate Super PAC operating on his behalf, the Right to Rise Super PAC, are engaged in knowing and willful violations of the federal campaign finance laws."

While Bush has not yet announce his bid for the US presidency, the watchdogs believe he has been acting as a presidential candidate "in all pertinent respects" since January 2015. For example, they note that he has been extensively traveling, delivering speeches and, most importantly "has also been heavily involved in fundraising for the Right to Rise Super PAC, which is raising funds solely for the purpose of making expenditures to further Bush’s presidential campaign."

© Flickr / The World Affairs Council of PhiladelphiaIn a 2009 voter-registration application, Jeb Bush listed himself as Hispanic.
In a 2009 voter-registration application, Jeb Bush listed himself as Hispanic. - Sputnik International
In a 2009 voter-registration application, Jeb Bush listed himself as Hispanic.

The watchdogs argue that if Bush has been raising money for his presidential campaign, then he is a presidential candidate by law, no matter what the status of his declaration is.

"The fact of his candidacy is so apparent, and so overt, that Bush himself has found it hard to maintain what is really the ongoing charade of his purported non-candidacy," the letter reads.

According to US federal legislation, individual-candidate Super PACs are subject to a number of limitations. For instance, individual contributions to such funds are limited to $2,700 and the candidate himself is prohibited from "maintaining or controlling" the funds – provisions, which, according to the watchdogs, have been violated by Bush.

Jeb Bush, 62, is a Republican politician and a former Governor of Florida. He is the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and the younger brother of former President George W. Bush.

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