(Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate donald trumpThe Trump campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, arguing that US Vice President Kamala Harris could not legally take over funds raised by the president. Joe Bidenre-election campaign.
Biden, an 81-year-old Democrat who was in a tight race with Republican challenger Donald Trump, supported Harris as he ended his re-election bid on Sunday. Harris quickly took control of Biden’s campaign accounts and on Monday night completed the nomination by winning the pledges of the majority of delegates who at the party convention next month will determine the nominee, according to her campaign.
The fight over the accounts, which had about $95 million in the bank at the end of June, is part of a multipronged effort by Republicans to thwart Harris’ bid to lead the Democratic ticket.
The Trump campaign argued that Harris undertook a “brazen money grab,” according to the filing by David Warrington, the campaign’s general counsel. In the document, which was shared with Reuters, Warrington said Harris was in the process of committing what he described as “the largest campaign finance breach in American history.”
Saurav Ghosh, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan watchdog group, said that because Harris was already part of “Biden for President” as the vice presidential candidate, her right to the money should be guaranteed.
In any case, it is unlikely that election regulators will resolve the issue before the November 5th presidential election.
The FEC said it could not comment on unresolved enforcement issues.
Harris’ campaign said it has raised $100 million since Sunday, when Biden stepped away from the campaign and endorsed her — surpassing Biden’s remaining tally by just a few days. Her campaign ignored the FEC complaint.
“Republicans may be jealous that Democrats are energized to defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, but baseless legal claims – like the ones they’ve made for years to try to suppress votes and steal elections – will only distract them while we recruit volunteers , talk to voters and win this election,” said Harris campaign spokesman Charles Kretchmer Lutvak.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Mary Milliken and Christopher Cushing)
