Trump campaign "disguised" and "laundered" nearly $170 worth of spending, watchdog group alleges in new federal complaint

The 82-page complaint, filed Tuesday by the Campaign Legal Center, contends the Trump campaign's spending practices have the practical effect of masking payments — in violation of federal campaign transparency rules — to various advertising contractors and senior Trump campaign staff and family members, including Lara Trump, wife of son Eric Trump, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, girlfriend of son Donald Trump Jr. Voters have a clear right under the law to know how campaigns are spending money to influence elections," said Trevor Potter, the Campaign Legal Center's president and a former Republican chairman of the FEC. "Without this information, they certainly should be asking, 'what is the Trump campaign hiding?'" Much of the Campaign Legal Center's complaint focuses on American Made Media Consultants, a Delaware-based company formed in 2018 and supported by the Trump campaign to specifically coordinate its massive ad buying program. Expect no quick resolution to the Campaign Legal Center's complaint, which names both the Trump campaign and Trump Make America Great Again Committee — a joint fundraising operation involving the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee. That does not mean this illegal activity should be ignored. The law should be vindicated, even if post-election," Potter said. If the FEC is unable to act, Potter said his organization would consider pursuing its complaint against the Trump campaign in federal court — something the Campaign Legal Center has already done in unrelated matters. The group also would consider filing a complaint with the Department of Justice "if evidence develops of a knowing and wilful violation," Potter said. 

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