Donald Trump has spent his life gleefully evading comeuppance. Six bankruptcies, and a possible loss of almost all his income, haven’t ruined his public image as a rich guy. He’s bragged about not paying his taxes, during a presidential debate. He’s lied about election fraud (while his own cronies possibly commit it) and encouraged his violent supporters to attack the Capitol, and yet he could get re-elected. Speaking of, a his 2024 run seems to already be “marked by corruption,” and it hasn’t even officially started yet.
In a new column for MSNBC, political analyst Zasheem Aleem points to a recent complaint filed with the Federal Elections Commission that alleges Trump has been illegally spending fundraising dollars on a campaign that has yet to file the official paperwork.
“The argument behind the complaint is that Trump is using rhetoric that signals that he is, in fact, running already but declining to formally declare his candidacy to avoid the restrictions and regulations on his fundraising capacity that would kick in if he did,” Aleem writes. “Trump’s rhetorical sleights of hand raise the possibility that his de facto third presidential campaign is already marked by corruption before it even formally kicks off.”
Trump has been fundraising ever since losing re-election in 2020, though that money doesn’t always go where he claims it will. After exiting office in disgrace, he raised funds to, he claimed, fight election fraud. Instead that money lined his own pockets. Now he’s allegedly raising money to keep his presidential brand front and center, but since he’s not officially running for office, he doesn’t have to disclose his donors, as any candidate would be required to do. He would also have a limit on how much he can raise. But since his campaign has not formally begun he doesn’t have to do anything.
And yet it’s clear he’s running, Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen, told Aleem. “On its face,” she says, “the combination of Trump’s own statements about 2024 and his aggressive fundraising certainly could be enough evidence to trigger the standard for becoming a candidate for president under federal law.”
In other words, it appears Trump is once again breaking the law then laughing at anyone who tries to stop him.
You can read Aleem’s full column at MSNBC.