Washington, D.C. – This morning, Campaign Legal Center sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts urging him to address allegations of unethical conduct related to the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2022 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary.  

Specifically, the letter asks Chief Justice Roberts to establish a formal procedure for investigating ethical misconduct and adopt a binding code of conduct for the Justices. Public scrutiny of the Justices’ behavior has raised unanswered questions about substantial alleged misconduct, which harms the Supreme Court’s legitimacy.  

“The public has a right to know whether the Chief Justice intends to accept the status quo of questionable ethics practices chip away at the Court’s reputation, or if you are committed to rebuilding public trust. We ask that your Report take a step in the direction of change and state this commitment,” wrote Kedric Payne, vice president, general counsel and senior director of ethics at Campaign Legal Center.  

The Supreme Court’s inability to meaningfully investigate and address misconduct allegations internally could require the Department of Justice to step in and investigate Justices. This precedent was established in 1969 when the Justice Department conducted an ethics investigation into Justice Abe Fortas, who ultimately resigned.  

The letter urges the nation’s highest court to join the lower federal courts and the executive and legislative branches of government in establishing an internal ethics office and binding code of conduct.

Read the letter here. 

The complaint alleges that former president Donald J. Trump, who has repeatedly acknowledged his intent to run for president in 2024, has violated federal campaign finance laws by directing or transferring $20 million from his leadership PAC to the super PAC “Make America Great Again, Inc."  

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that former President Donald Trump and his leadership PAC, Save America, violated the soft money provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).  

Since leaving the White House in 2021, Trump has raised over $100 million through Save America. On October 3, 2022, Save America made a $20 million contribution to Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC. That super PAC then spent just under $12 million throughout the 2022 midterms and is poised to support Trump’s 2024 campaign. 

Although Trump has not yet filed a Statement of Candidacy, that is not determinative of whether he is a federal candidate. Publicly available information — including Trump’s own public and private statements as well as the fact that he has raised and spent well over $5,000 through Save America in order to advance his candidacy — confirms that Trump became a candidate months ago, long before Save America’s transfer to MAGA Inc. 

“When federal candidates evade campaign finance laws designed to maintain transparency and combat corruption, they undermine our election system and damage voter trust,” said Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and a Republican Former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). “Former President Trump made it clear months ago, through his statements and actions, that he was running for president again in 2024 — long before his leadership PAC, Save America, gave $20 million to a super PAC that then spent over $11 million on the 2022 midterms. By injecting this ‘soft money’ into a federal election, Trump violated the law, and the FEC must act.” 

Because Trump was a federal candidate when his leadership PAC contributed $20 million to a super PAC that was actively spending in the 2022 midterms and is poised to spend again in the 2024 cycle, he and Save America blatantly violated soft money prohibitions. 

Soft money isn’t subject to federal reporting requirements, and it isn't subject to contribution limits. Even after Citizens United, the FEC has made it clear that federal fundraising rules still do apply to federal candidates fundraising on super PACs’ behalf. 

The FEC must enforce federal law and hold former President Trump and Save America accountable.