Trump files complaint with election commission; seeks to block transfer of money raised by Biden to Harris

The campaign of former president Donald Trump filed a complaint Tuesday, July 23, with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) arguing that money raised for President Joe Biden's re-election bid cannot be transferred to the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, who in just 24 hours broke fundraising records following the official announcement of her launch into the election race.

The complaint, filed by Trump campaign general counsel David Warrington, asserts that transferring the funds would amount to "little more than a thinly veiled $91.5 million excessive contribution from one presidential candidate to another," CNN reported.

The complaint says, "Kamala Harris is seeking to perpetrate a $91.5 million dollar heist of Joe Biden’s leftover campaign cash — a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971."

The Trump campaign's effort targets President Biden, Harris herself, the once presidential and now-vice presidential campaign and campaign treasurer Keana Spencer for "flagrantly violating the Act by making and receiving an excessive contribution of nearly one hundred million dollars, and for filing fraudulent forms with the Commission purporting to reallocate one candidate's principal campaign committee for the use of another candidate."

Correct interpretation of the law?

Despite the legal move, CNN explained that it is highly unlikely that the FEC will rule on the claim until after the election because of the slowness of the rules review processes.

At the moment, the transfer of funds of this type is a gray area, with various election law experts clashing over whether or not it is legal for such a transaction to be made.

For example, in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, noted Republican election lawyer Charlie Spies said that the Biden-Harris team must be formally nominated by their party before any money can be transferred.

"If President Biden is committed to passing the torch to his vice president, and wants to be able to seed her campaign with the current Biden for President campaign war chest, he’ll first have to become his party’s legal nominee," wrote the veteran lawyer, who briefly served as general counsel for the RNC in early 2024.

However, speaking to CNN, Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA Law School, said he does not believe the Trump campaign's legal interpretation is consistent with the view of "most campaign finance lawyers."

However, Hasen asserted that "that doesn’t mean it can’t get tied up in FEC proceedings for years."

Harris campaign dismisses complaint

Meanwhile, the Democratic vice presidential campaign accused Trump and the Republicans of being "jealous" of their record donations in the last 36 hours.

"Republicans may be jealous that Democrats are energized to defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, but baseless legal claims – like the ones they’ve made for years to try to suppress votes and steal elections – will only distract them while we sign up volunteers, talk to voters, and win this election," said Harris campaign spokesman Charles Kretchmer Lutvak.

At the moment, the Harris campaign has already raised $100 million in its first 36 hours of the race, a spokesperson explained, in part, by the enthusiasm of big donors who returned to sign checks after protesting Biden's candidacy.