Trump Campaign Challenges Harris' Access to Biden Funds

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Facts

• Lawyers for the Trump campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) Tuesday, claiming that campaign finance laws prohibit Vice Pres. Kamala Harris from taking control of funds raised by Pres. Joe Biden's official 'Biden for President' campaign.¹
• Following Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and his endorsement of Harris for the Democratic nomination, the Biden campaign is looking to transfer $95M of funds to the renamed “Harris for President” campaign.²
• Trump's attorneys argue that transferring the funds would be the 'biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.'³
• Despite Harris being on the ticket, one prominent GOP lawyer says that campaign finance law requires Biden, or any party nominee, to officially secure his party’s nomination before allowing the vice-presidential nominee to take control of the campaign and its funds.⁴
• The Biden-Harris campaign has already filed paperwork with the FEC to rebrand itself as the 'Harris for President' campaign. Erin Chlopak of the Campaign Legal Center told Forbes that Biden and Harris have already been sharing their campaign funds, meaning there would be no legal “transfer” of money.⁵
• Biden stepping down roughly 100 days before the election has brought many legal questions regarding access to campaign funds and other electoral issues. FEC commissioners have publicly voiced opposing stances on Harris’ right to Biden campaign funds.⁶

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²Politico, ³ABC News, ⁴Washington Post, ⁵Forbes and ⁶New York Post.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Business Insider. Republicans are clearly scared to face Harris in November, leading to their desperate attempt to challenge her right to the Biden-Harris campaign funds. From a legal standpoint, Harris is legally entitled to any campaign donation since she is listed on the ticket. Even if that weren’t obvious, there would be no way to block her from accessing the money before the election. The GOP will lose this challenge, and likely the election.
• Republican narrative, as provided by PJ Media. The unprecedented ousting of Joe Biden has created many legal questions regarding the next Democratic nominee, which is likely to be Kamala Harris. Democrats sneakily tried to slap Harris' name over Biden's to secure $100M in campaign funds, but they are likely committing a campaign finance violation. Democrats subverted Democracy by forcing Biden out, and now they're looking to give his money to Harris.

Predictions