Democratic super PAC sues FEC for inaction as Donald Trump teases 2024 bid

By CNN Newsource

Published July 20, 2022 5:08 PM

By Fredreka Schouten

A Democratic super PAC on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission in a bid to force the agency to take action against former President Donald Trump for, in their view, essentially running for president without formally declaring himself a candidate.

The lawsuit from American Bridge 21st Century follows a March complaint with the commission, alleging that Trump is raising and spending big sums to promote a likely presidential campaign in 2024, while skirting federal campaign finance laws that require those who raise or spend more than $5,000 to register as a candidate.

Presidential candidates also must comply with strict limits on the amount of money they can collect from each donor and are barred from coordinating their activities with super PACs.

American Bridge says it has filed the lawsuit because the FEC, which often deadlocks along partisan lines, has not yet taken action. It’s not clear that the case would move through the court system quickly enough to influence matters before the 2024 campaign gets underway.

An FEC spokeswoman said Wednesday that the commission does not comment on litigation. And a Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to CNN inquiries.

Trump has signaled that he is plotting a third presidential bid, telling New York Magazine recently that he is still deciding when — rather than if — he should announce a 2024 campaign.

“I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after,” Trump said in the interview, in an apparent reference to November’s midterm elections.

“Do I go before or after? That will be my big decision,” he added, after confirming that he has “already made that decision” when asked if he is planning to run.

The lawsuit cites earlier comments by the former President that hint at a 2024 campaign. They include remarks in February 2022 at a Conservative Political Action Conference gathering when Trump said of another presidential campaign: “We did it twice and we’ll do it again. … We’re going to be doing it again a third time.”

Jessica Floyd, president of American Bridge 21st Century, said in a statement that the lawsuit is aimed at preventing Trump from “continuing to flout the law with his current, active presidential campaign.”

Recently filed campaign finance reports show that Trump’s political organization has continued to raise big sums, albeit at a slower pace than in the months immediately after he left office. A Trump-aligned joint fundraising committee collected some $17 million during the second quarter of the year.

CNN Gabby Orr contributed to this story.