CNBC: Questionable tax-free payments to Trump staffers raise 'red flags'
"In my view, the situation is significant if (what) we are seeing is a pattern that reflects serious problems with the campaign," Larry Noble, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center who also worked for 13 years as Federal Election Commission general counsel, told CNBC. "If the report is speaking for itself, it's not saying anything coherent."
The Campaign Legal Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that works with the courts and federal agencies to enforce and defend campaign finance laws. The center recently filed a complaint with the FEC against the Trump campaign for its solicitation of money from foreign nationals and politicians.
"Just like the FEC informed the campaign in November: When the campaign pays a single vendor more than $200 during the election cycle, the name of the vendor should be disclosed, even if a staff person is making the purchase on behalf of the campaign," Noble said.
He added that as far as he could tell, "there is no indication of who the vendors are for the in-kind services."
This omission is likely to elicit inquiries from election officials, according to multiple experts.