In a recent interview with the fringe right wing outlet Real America’s Voice, Donald Trump called on Russian dictator and war criminal Vladimir Putin to intervene in American elections by releasing disinformation about President Biden. This is not the first time that Trump, who has made clear that he is running for president in 2024, has called on foreign governments to interfere in elections on his behalf in the past. Trump used this tactic repeatedly as a candidate, and it ultimately led to his first impeachment.
Trump has had nothing but good things to say about Putin, calling the dictator and war criminal “savvy” and heaping praise on his “genius” invasion in Ukraine.
It is clear lawlessness is going to be a theme of Trump’s 2024 bid. In addition to employing the illegal strategy of welcoming foriegn interference in our elections, Donald Trump is flouting campaign finance laws. For months, Trump had been publicly and repeatedly suggesting that he is a candidate for the presidency in 2024, before confirming his campaign in February.
Once he made the private decision to become a candidate, Trump was obligated to file a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission within 15 days of receiving contributions or making expenditures of more than $5,000 to influence his election, either directly or through third parties. This Statement of Candidacy has not been filed – but after his public remarks about a 2024 candidacy, Trump’s leadership committee, Save America, has spent more than $100,000 per week on Facebook ads and has consistently raised more than $1 million per week – a clear violation of campaign finance law and precedent established by the Federal Election Commission.
In response, American Bridge has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission to investigate these violations.
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Published: Mar 30, 2022 | Last Modified: Apr 1, 2022