Andrew Kerr, DCNF
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced Friday it dismissed a complaint from a liberal watchdog group alleging that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign had violated campaign laws by promoting his businesses and using campaign funds to pay for events at his Mar-A-Lago resort.
The complaint, which was filed nearly two years ago by David Brock’s American Democracy Legal Fund, alleged that Trump “used campaign press conferences to promote and market products that he owns or are associated with the Trump brand.”
But the FEC’s general counsel found that Trump’s promotion of his businesses during the campaign “were made in the context of touting his business acumen, and therefore his suitability and qualifications for office, which was an issue often raised during the campaign.”
BREAKING: Another frustrating @FEC failure to act. https://t.co/uDBCSBOjqt
— Ellen L Weintraub (@EllenLWeintraub) June 15, 2018
Three of the FEC’s four commissioners agreed with the general counsel’s recommendations. The lone dissenter, Democrat Ellen Weintraub, said it was just another “frustrating” example of the FEC’s failure to act.
In a statement Friday, Weintraub said the FEC should have opened a formal investigation into the complaint to ensure no laws were broken.
“Only then could the Commission assure the American public that no impermissible intermingling of campaign and business or personal interests occurred,” she said.
The complaint also alleged that the Trump campaign overpaid Mar-A-Lago for the three campaign events it held at the club in March 2016. Since Trump is the sole owner of Mar-A-Lago, any overpayment by the Trump campaign to the club would be money in Trump’s pocket.
But the FEC’s general counsel concluded that there was no reason to believe the Trump campaign overpaid its stay at Mar-A-Lago, citing the Palm Beach Police Foundation, which was charged a similar rate for their 2013 annual ball and auction held at the club.
Former FEC commissioner Brad Smith argued in June 2017 that Weintraub’s approach towards Trump casts “serious doubt on whether she can continue to credibly carry on her duties as a Commissioner.”
“If Commissioner Weintraub wishes to be an unserious, progressive martyr on the Commission, it is certainly within her rights to do so,” Smith wrote. “If she criticizes the President enough, she can spin to a ferociously anti-Trump press that any effort to replace her is an effort to silence the hunt for truth. The problem is that there is actual work to do at the FEC.”
Send tips to [email protected]
For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- The Florida candidate laser-focused on eradicating horrific animal crimes - March 22, 2024
- Sabo: ‘Rush was our GOAT, there was no equal and he made it look easy’ - February 18, 2024
- Dana Bash appears to want to crawl out of her own skin when Ramaswamy ‘goes there’ on J6 - December 7, 2023
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!