A pro-Trump political action committee has filed a complaint with the FEC alleging the Hillary Clinton campaign laundered $84 million in contributions from big-name donors, such as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, filmmaker Steven Spielberg, and designer Calvin Klein.
The complaint outlines a money laundering scheme that violated multiple campaign finance laws, specifically laws related to limits on contributions by independent donors. As of this week, the complaint has escalated with a lawsuit urging the FEC to take action on the complaint which appears to have been largely ignored by the FEC since being filed in December of 2017.
Using both civil and criminal laws, the US government limits how much money an individual can contribute to a particular candidate or political action committee in order to combat corruption and to maintain fair elections. While the actual base limits on individuals will vary with each year, the principle behind limitations remains intact and has been continuously sustained by the Supreme Court. These limit computations require ridiculously absurd government mathematics because of the ways in which “party committee” contributions can increase an individual’s legal opportunities to contribute.
The shrewd individuals running the Hillary Victory Fund (HVF) figured out these campaign mathematics, and in 2016 appeared to legally solicit up to $356,100 from Clinton’s supporters at extravagant fundraisers, such as a dinner at George Clooney’s house and a concert featuring Elton John. Compare this to the $2,700 limit the government sets per individual contributor in a general election. How did they do it? HVF figured out how to maximize the permissible contribution numbers by calling themselves a “joint fundraising committee” comprised of Clinton’s campaign, the DNC, and 32 state party committees.
AAN Staff
The staff at American Action News are consummate professionals, who when not producing original, hard-hitting content, are scouring the internet to bring you the unfiltered news that matters to you! Our mission is to maximize your experience on our website. If we can ever be of assistance, please do not hesitate to let us know!
