A pro-Trump political action committee went to federal court Thursday to force the Federal Election Commission to rule on a three-year-old claim that Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign “laundered” $18 million through the Democratic National Committee.
In its new lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court in Washington, Great America PAC said it was tired of waiting for the politically divided FEC to act and was asking that the agency be forced to move.
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“We’ve waited patiently, and now we’re not,” the PAC’s legal counsel, Dan Backer, told Secrets in previewing the suit.
At issue is Bloomberg’s mammoth contribution to the DNC that was used to help then-Vice President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump in 2020.
Despite dumping $935 million of his own money into his campaign, Bloomberg never caught fire in the election. When he got out after just a few months, he took all but $18 million back, transferring the remainder over to the DNC. The transfer was described as “historic” in glowing media reports.
Great America PAC, however, filed a complaint with the FEC, arguing that the money was essentially Bloomberg’s personal funds and that election rules put a $35,500 cap on personal contributions to political parties.
The suit filed on Thursday read: “The administrative complaint GAP filed with the FEC alleges the existence of a conspiracy to funnel — effectively launder — well over $18 million of Michael Bloomberg’s personal funds through his abortive presidential candidate committee to the DNC.”
Backer added: “Everyone agrees — he put his money in, he took his money out, and he left a little of his money. He moved his money over to there, and that’s it. So really, the only reason the FEC hasn’t ruled on this is because they’re so scared s***less of angering a rich and powerful Democrat that they’re going to let him get away with $18 million illegal campaign contributions. And so we’re suing the FEC to force the issue.”
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Should the court rule in favor of Backer, it begins a 30-day clock that will force the FEC to address the old case or open the door to a broader legal case that could actually lead to the creation of a much higher donation cap.
But Backer said just forgetting the Bloomberg transfer wasn’t going to happen: “I think the integrity of our political system cares. And if you love democracy, you’ve got to actually stand up and say, ‘No, you can’t let billionaires buy elections.'”
