The Federal Election Commission has received a complaint accusing Donald Trump’s 2024 White House campaign and its affiliated political committees of participating in a scheme to hide the identities of individuals receiving payments for the former president’s legal work. This alleged action raises concerns about a potential violation of federal law.
According to a press release from the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), a nonprofit government watchdog, a complaint was filed on Wednesday. The complaint focuses on Red Curve Solutions, a company that reportedly received $7.2 million from Trump’s campaign and four other affiliated political committees. These transactions took place between December 7, 2022, and March 18, 2024.
Red Curve Solutions specializes in providing a wide range of services to political campaigns. Their expertise includes comprehensive budgeting, accounting, financial management, and compliance services, as stated on their LinkedIn page.
According to a press release from the Campaign Legal Center, the majority of payments made by Trump’s campaign and committees are labeled as “Reimbursement for Legal Fees” or “Reimbursement for Legal Expenses.” This indicates that outside organizations are frequently hired to handle tasks such as polling, consulting, and other campaign needs.
According to the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Red Curve, which is managed by Bradley Crate, the treasurer for Trump’s campaign and four other committees, does not seem to provide any legal services.
According to the organization, the way the arrangement is structured appears to be intentionally concealing the actual beneficiaries of a significant portion of Trump’s legal expenses. This action seems to be in violation of federal law.
According to the release by CLC, it seems that Red Curve has been covering Trump’s legal expenses since December 2022. Later on, Trump-affiliated committees reimburse the company. However, this arrangement appears to violate FEC rules. These rules mandate campaigns to disclose both the reimbursing entity, in this case, Red Curve, as well as the underlying vendor.
According to CLC, this arrangement would prevent the public from knowing the details of Trump’s legal work, including which law firms are being paid and how much. Furthermore, CLC argues that this arrangement may violate a federal prohibition on corporate political contributions. Red Curve, as a limited liability corporation, would be prohibited from making any contributions, including in-kind contributions or advances, to Trump’s campaign or any other “hard money” committee, even if those payments or advances are fully reimbursed.
The request for comment from the Trump campaign went unanswered.
The complaint also includes the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, the Save America leadership committee, Trump Make America Great Again Committee, and Make America Great Again PAC.
Campaign finance experts have expressed concerns regarding President Trump’s utilization of campaign funds to cover his significant legal expenses. An analysis conducted by USA TODAY reveals that Save America has allocated $76 million towards legal fees.
During a time when he is facing serious legal scrutiny and requires cash to address significant judgments in civil lawsuits and multiple criminal cases, Trump’s campaign has been diverting funds into his businesses.
According to a recent FEC report, it has been revealed that Trump’s joint fundraising committee made a total of four payments to his various properties. These payments included three checks amounting to $411,287 to his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and one check for $62,337 to Trump National Doral Miami.
In a defamation case brought forth by writer E. Jean Carroll, Trump has posted a $91.6 million bond. Additionally, in a separate fraud case involving falsification of business records, he has posted a $175 million bond.
Donald Trump is currently facing trial in New York City for criminal charges related to alleged hush money payments made to an adult film star in order to conceal an affair.
The FEC possesses a variety of powers, primarily focused on imposing fines. Nonetheless, deadlocked party-line votes frequently occur, resulting in certain gray areas of the law going unenforced.
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