Joe Biden and Alvin Bragg hit with new FEC complaint

Right-wing nonprofit America First Legal (AFL) filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint on Wednesday against President Joe Biden‘s reelection campaign and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who recently won a criminal trial against former President Donald Trump.

Trump, the presumptive GOP 2024 presidential nominee, was found guilty last month on 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels alleges she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which he denies. The former president has maintained his innocence, claiming the case was politically motivated against him. His legal team intends to appeal the verdict.

Trump and his allies have claimed that the case was just a Democrat ploy to interfere with the former president being elected to a second term, despite there being no evidence of such claims.

AFL, an organization led by Stephen Miller, who served as senior advisor to Trump in the White House, filed a complaint with the FEC on Wednesday against Bragg and Biden’s campaign, Biden for President, citing “direct and serious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act [FECA].”

Newsweek reached out to Biden’s campaign, Bragg’s office, and AFL via email for comment.

AFL alleged that Bragg’s prosecution of Trump was “‘coordinated'” with Biden, meaning that it was “‘in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of’ Biden,” according to the filing.

The group said that this qualifies as Bragg making an “excessive contribution in the form of a coordinated expenditure…by pursuing the politically motivated prosecution against Trump.”

AFL explained in the filing that, FECA and FEC “regulations prohibit candidates and authorized committees from knowingly accepting contributions from individuals in excess of a specified amount — which, during the 2024 election cycle, is $3,300 per election.”

Therefore, the group argued, Biden’s campaign allegedly violated these regulations by “knowingly accept[ing] an excessive contribution in the form of a coordinated expenditure.”

AFL then accused Biden’s campaign of not properly disclosing this “coordinated expenditure” in violation of FECA and FEC regulations.

The big question is why Bragg would give an “excessive contribution” to Biden.

AFL pointed to Matthew Colangelo who served as Bragg’s senior counsel in the hush money case. Colangelo had previously worked as a senior official at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before working at the DOJ, Colangelo was employed at the New York attorney general’s office where he worked on cases against Trump and the Trump Foundation.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the DOJ said in a letter to House Republicans that the department “did not identify any instances of Mr. Colangelo having email communications with the District Attorney’s office during his time at the Department.”

In Wednesday’s complaint, AFL asked for an investigation into the allegations, to declare that Bragg and Biden’s campaign violated FECA and FEC regulations, and order that the Biden campaign file public reports identifying the “coordinated expenditures.” The group also requested that the FEC impose sanctions on the alleged violations and “take such further action as may be appropriate, including referring this matter to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.”

‘Take a hard look’

Dan Epstein, vice president of AFL, said in a press release on Wednesday, “Questions from the media and Congress, coupled with the demonstrable evidence of influence from the DOJ, the Manhattan DA’s office, and Bragg’s financial supporters who later influenced the Biden Administration, creates a substantially likely risk of coordination between President Biden and Bragg.

“With the lawfare before the FEC against candidate and former President Donald Trump, it is important that the FEC take a hard look at the relationship between President Biden, his administration, and his political committees and the New York County DA’s Office’s political prosecution of the former President during a campaign year.”

Meanwhile, following Trump’s guilty verdict, Biden told reporters that “the American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed.” He warned that “it’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict.

“Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it literally is the cornerstone of America. Our justice system, the justice system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that. That’s America. That’s who we are, and that’s who we’ll always be, God willing.”