Democratic National Committee files federal complaint alleging Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s super PAC worked too closely with his campaign

WASHINGTON: The Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Friday accusing presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of running a “ballot scheme” that it argued constituted illegal coordination with a super PAC supporting his independent bid for the White House.

The committee claims that the super PAC American Values ​​2024 is working to collect signatures to keep Kennedy on the ballot in key states in November, but must “integrate its expenses into the campaign” in a manner that violates federal election rules, To do this. so.

The Democratic National Committee believes that’s because many states, including Arizona, Illinois and Michigan, have rules requiring candidates or their campaigns to collect ballot signatures, meaning Kennedy’s campaign would have to violate federal rules. to meet state requirements.

“They simply cannot comply with federal law and state law at the same time,” Democratic National Committee legal counsel Bob Lenhard said on a conference call with reporters.

Tim Mellon, a major donor to Donald Trump, gave $15 million to American Values ​​last year, according to federal filings. The Democratic National Committee claims the donations show senior supporters of the former president are using Kennedy’s candidacy to try to gain support from President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.

In a conference call with reporters, the Democratic National Committee argued that “Trump and his mega-donors are supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a horse.”

The complaint comes amid growing concerns among Democrats that third-party candidates could steal support from Biden. Kennedy began his White House campaign as a challenger to Biden in the Democratic primary last year but later pivoted to a third-party campaign, meaning he could also attract some potential Trump supporters.

Kennedy’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but American Values ​​said it had been working independently from the campaign to get Kennedy on the ballot in 12 states and dismissed the DNC’s complaints as a “political game.”

“The Democratic National Committee’s desire to deny millions of people their basic constitutional right to vote is a relentless attack on democracy,” Tony Lyons, the group’s co-founder, said in a statement. It added, “The Biden administration and the Democratic National Committee clearly find democracy inconvenient, want to silence any dissent, and do not trust their candidates to win free, open and fair elections.”

It is not uncommon for complaints to be filed with the Federal Election Commission over improper coordination with campaigns. In December, a campaign watchdog group filed a complaint alleging that Never Back Down, a super PAC backing Republican Ron DeSantis, coordinated too closely with the Florida governor’s suspended presidential campaign.

But Linhardt said the DNC took the unusual step of filing a complaint against Kennedy himself because what happened was “compelling” and “remarkable” given that some states require candidates or their campaigns to collect ballot signatures. “dramatic”.

“The state law factor adds additional legal concerns,” Linhardt said.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from Yonhap News Agency-The Associated Press)