Donald Trump Slams Dems’ FEC Complaint of Campaign Finance Violations as ‘Cheap Gimmick’

Ex-president Donald Trump, who is yet to officially announce another run for the Oval Office, again teased a 2024 challenge during a campaign-style rally in South Carolina on Saturday, saying that, “We may have to run,” and promising that Republicans in 2024 “are going to take back that beautiful, beautiful White House”.

Donald Trump has denounced as a “cheap gimmick” a complaint filed by a Democratic fundraising organisation with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), accusing the ex-POTUS of violating campaign finance laws.

In its complaint, filed on 14 March, the American Bridge Super Pac said that “Trump has been illegally using his multi-candidate leadership PAC to raise and spend funds in excess of Commission limits for the purpose of advancing a 2024 presidential campaign.”

It added that Trump’s failure to “timely file a Statement of Candidacy with the Commission is a clear violation of the [Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971].”

In line with US federal election campaign rules, candidates must register with the FEC within 15 days of receiving contributions or funnelling over $5,000 into a presidential campaign.

The complaint filed by the Democratic fundraising organisation cites Donald Trump’s remarks, made at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando in February, where he said:

“We did it twice and we will do it again … We are going to be doing it again a third time.”

The filed complaint says that the 45th POTUS’ primary Pac, Save America, spent more than $100,000 weekly on Facebook ads while raising “over $1 million per week in violation of campaign finance law and precedent established by the Federal Election Commission.”

It goes on to request the FEC to “compel disclosure of any expenditures made to further Mr Trump’s candidacy, enjoin Mr Trump from further violations, and fine Mr Trump the maximum amount permitted by law.”

Donald Trump’s team slammed the filing as no more than a “cheap gimmick” yet again showing how the Democratic party “has become a dumpster fire that’s void of solutions and substances”.

“America is spiralling into disaster because of the Democrats’ failures, and instead of reversing course, they are busy filing frivolous complaints that have zero merit,” said Trump spokesperson Taylor Budowich.

This comes as throughout recent public appearances and interviews, Donald Trump has hinted at the prospect of another White House run in 2024 on numerous occasions, promising to make an announcement after the November 2022 midterms.

More recently, speaking in Florence, South Carolina, on Saturday night, Trump told rally-goers:

“In 2024, we are going to take back that beautiful, beautiful White House. I wonder who will do that. I wonder. I wonder.”