Trump's Campaign Law Violations: A Comprehensive Review

Former US President Donald Trump has been accused of breaking campaign laws on multiple occasions. In 2024, a pro-Democratic super PAC accused him of violating federal campaign laws by raising and spending money for a 2024 run without officially filing his candidacy. Trump has also been accused of pressuring a Georgia election official to find enough votes to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in the state, which may have broken a US federal law and a Georgia law against election tampering. In addition, the House Jan. 6 committee has urged the Justice Department to consider prosecuting Trump for four different crimes related to his efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election and his behaviour during the insurrection at the US Capitol. Trump has also been indicted on 34 felony counts related to falsifying reimbursement checks to his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 election to cover up allegations of an affair.

Violating federal campaign laws by raising and spending money for a 2024 run without officially filing his candidacy

As former President Donald Trump continues to tease a 2024 run for the White House, a pro-Democratic super PAC, American Bridge, has accused him of violating federal campaign laws by raising and spending money without officially filing his candidacy.

In its complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), American Bridge accused Trump of "illegally using his multicandidate leadership PAC to raise and spend funds in excess of Commission limits for the purpose of advancing a 2024 presidential campaign." This includes payments for events at Trump properties, rallies, consulting fees for former campaign staff, and digital advertising.

American Bridge alleges that Trump has privately decided to mount a 2024 campaign and is therefore obligated to file a candidacy intent statement within 15 days of receiving contributions or making expenditures over $5,000. By not doing so, they argue that Trump has violated campaign finance laws and precedent established by the FEC.

In response, a spokesperson for Trump, Taylor Budowich, dismissed the complaint as meritless and accused Democrats of resorting to "cheap gimmicks." The future course of action by the FEC is unclear, as the commission has been criticized for being ineffective and slow in its decisions, often deadlocking along party lines.

Violating a federal law that makes it illegal to attempt to deprive or defraud people of a fair and impartially conducted election process

On January 2, 2024, a grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump on four charges for his conduct following the 2020 presidential election, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. This charge relates to a federal law that makes it illegal to attempt to "deprive or defraud" people of a "fair and impartially conducted election process."

Trump was accused of violating this law by pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn his loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the state. During a phone call, Trump told Raffensperger: "All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have." Legal experts argued that this request constituted a "flagrant federal criminal violation" and that Trump appeared to be using threats to push Raffensperger to alter a legitimate vote count.

Trump's defense team likely would have argued that he was simply offering his genuine views on the election and not making a demand. They could have claimed that Trump genuinely believed the election was rigged against him and that he did not have the intent to interfere with the election.

Ultimately, federal charges were not brought against Trump, with President Biden stating that a trial would not be in the national interest and could further divide the country. However, the House Jan. 6 committee urged the Justice Department to consider prosecuting Trump for his efforts to undo the results of the 2020 election and his behavior during the Capitol insurrection.

Obstruction of an official proceeding

On August 1, 2023, a grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump on four charges for his conduct following the 2020 presidential election through the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack. Two of these charges were for "obstructing an official proceeding" and "conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding".

"Obstructing an official proceeding" is a felony under U.S. federal law. It was enacted as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in reaction to the Enron scandal, closing a legal loophole on who could be charged with evidence tampering by defining the new crime very broadly. The crime carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In the case of Trump, the Department of Justice alleges that he obstructed Congress's certification of the electoral college results on January 6, 2021. This included creating fake election certificates declaring himself the winner of key swing states, pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to disregard President-elect Joe Biden's electors, and pushing the DOJ to falsely claim there were problems with the vote in Georgia or other states.

The "obstruction of an official proceeding" charge has been used in several high-profile cases. In 2019, Roger Stone was convicted of this charge as part of the Mueller Special Counsel investigation for lying to the U.S. House Committee on Intelligence and encouraging another witness to lie for him. He was later pardoned by President Trump. In 2022, Three Percenter member Guy Reffitt became the first person to be convicted of this charge in relation to the January 6 Capitol attack, along with other charges.

Conspiracy to defraud the United States

The committee's referral to the Justice Department carries no legal weight, but the Justice Department has since brought charges against Trump for this crime. The committee argued that Trump tried to obstruct the certification of the election despite being told by aides that there was no fraud that could have affected the outcome. They also stated that Trump angrily beseeched Vice President Mike Pence to delay the certification, even though he was told there was no legal basis for him to do so.

The committee also recommended that conservative lawyer John Eastman be prosecuted for conspiracy to defraud the United States, noting that a federal judge in California had already concluded in a separate lawsuit that evidence of a criminal conspiracy likely existed. The committee also said that other Trump associates engaged in the same conspiracy, although they did not attempt to identify all of them since many refused to cooperate with the panel. However, they did single out Jeffrey Clark, a former senior Justice Department official, as someone who had pledged to advance Trump's efforts to undo the election results.

In August 2023, Trump was indicted on four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. The indictment states that Trump and six co-conspirators employed a variety of means to reverse his defeat in the election almost from the moment that voting ended. This included promoting false claims of fraud, attempting to bend the Justice Department to support those claims, and overseeing a scheme to create false slates of electors pledged to him in states that were actually won by Joseph Biden. The indictment also mentions Trump's exploitation of the violence and chaos" at the Capitol, but does not accuse him of inciting the riot.

The conspiracy to defraud the United States charge is one of the most serious allegations levied against the twice-impeached, now thrice-indicted former president.

Conspiracy to make a false statement

The conspiracy to make a false statement charge against former President Donald Trump stems from his alleged involvement in a scheme to submit "fake electors" in battleground states won by Joe Biden. This scheme aimed to obstruct the certification of Biden's victory and invalidate his win in the 2020 presidential election.

The House Jan. 6 committee has referred Trump to the Justice Department for potential prosecution on this charge, along with three others: inciting insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The committee's referral carries no legal weight, but it has provided substantial evidence to support its allegations.

The "fake electors" scheme involved Trump allies submitting false certifications in multiple states, claiming that Trump had won their states when he had not. The Justice Department has shown interest in this activity, issuing grand jury subpoenas to these "fake electors."

Trump's alleged involvement in this scheme constitutes a conspiracy to make a false statement because he worked with others to carry out fraud against the United States. The committee's report details how Trump attempted to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to overturn his loss in the state, making 200 such attempts before the infamous January 2, 2021, phone call.

The committee's report also mentions Jeffrey Clark, a former senior Justice Department official, who pledged to advance Trump's efforts to undo the election results if named acting attorney general. Clark refused to answer the committee's questions, citing his Fifth Amendment privilege.

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