Born to Run or Born too Dumb? Trump Investigates Harris's "Paid Endorsements" from Springsteen & Others
Rightfully buried in this week’s somber news of President Biden’s health diagnosis was a pair of Truth Social posts in which the current sitting president announced a “major investigation” into payments Kamala Harris’s campaign made to hold events where Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, and Oprah endorsed Harris over Trump.
According to the president, these event expenses amount to “MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.”
Where to even begin…
Campaign Finance Law in Two Minutes
Here’s what we need to know:
The maximum someone could contribute to Harris was $6,600. I know it seems like there’s unlimited money in politics, but rules still exist.
“Contributions” include not just cash, but also “in-kind” contributions. Think of this as bills that you’d pay on the campaign’s behalf, like office equipment, pizza, or… concert expenses.
You can’t throw a concert for the campaign that costs more than the limit (or write a check for more than the limit). That would be an illegal contribution to the campaign.
Accordingly, when an artist racks up costs to put on an event to endorse a candidate, the candidate has to pay the event costs to avoid receiving an illegal contribution.
Meanwhile, there’s actually no rule against candidates paying someone to gain their endorsement, however:
Candidates are required to file public reports detailing every dollar they spend, including who they paid it to and the purpose of the payment. Failing to report a payment is a violation, and reporting a payment but lying about its purpose is a violation. Candidates can face severe penalties for filing false reports. If Harris paid Beyonce for her endorsement, we’d know.
Like every area of law, there are exceptions and perfectly acceptable work-arounds to some of these rules, but those are the basics.1
In short: it looks like the Harris campaign did everything right, and everything Trump knows about campaign finance law is wrong. He cites Harris’s payments to Oprah and others, alleging those payments are illegal contributions. In fact, those payments were necessary and proper to cover event expenses and avoid illegal contributions, and the only reason Trump knows about them is because Harris properly reported them.
Calling All “Major Investigators”
I’m curious who Trump will find to lead his “major investigation.” As I posted a few weeks ago, the Federal Election Commission that enforces these campaign finance laws is de facto defunct.
Trump also gutted the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice, which leads criminal investigations into candidates.
Maybe he’ll pull from his new bank of law firm pro bono hours.
Calling Lee Greenwood
Of course, Trump had celebrity endorsers, too. Kid Rock performed at the Republican National Convention. So did Lee Greenwood.
Mr. Greenwood, for his part, Tweeted that he’s “received $0 from the Trump Campaign or the Trump Organization to perform/appear at Trump Rallies or Events.”
In other words, Greenwood suggests Trump never paid him for any expenses he incurred to perform at Trump events (such as travel, paying band members, or renting equipment).
If true, it sure would be nice if there was a functional FEC or DOJ to investigate whether those expenses exceed the allowable limits…
These rules apply to elections for president, U.S. senate, and U.S. house. Rules for state & local offices like governor, state legislators, and mayors will differ by locality.