WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - A pro-Donald Trump political group has defeated a watchdog's lawsuit thanks to the discovery of two Federal Elections Commission votes previously not disclosed.
Campaign Legal Center had alleged 45Committee should have had to register with the FEC as a political committee and abide by reporting requirements after spending as much as $38 million to support Trump in the 2016 Presidential election.
Having received no response on its plea to the FEC to investigate, Campaign Legal Center turned to the federal court in Washington, D.C., with a lawsuit in 2022.
However, the FEC actually did act on CLC's request, though no one knew, Judge Amit Mehta wrote in a March 31 order dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction. Mehta could only hear the case of a citizen under the Federal Election Campaign Act if the FEC had failed to investigate.
Mehta wrote the parties were surprised to recently learn the FEC failed to secure four of its members' votes to initiate an investigation in June 2020.
"The same thing happened again in early December 2021, within the 30 days prescribed by the court in CLC's failure-to-act suit," Mehta wrote.
"But because the Commission never garnered the required number of votes to disclose these results, neither CLC nor the public became award of its actions. Until recently, that is. After CLC initiated this case, the FEC publicly revealed the results of its June 2020 and December 2021 votes."
45Committee was initially an anti-Hillary Clinton cause. In 2016, when the Republican Party nominated Trump to face her, it became a vehicle for Trump supporters who wished to remain anonymous with their support for him, the suit says.
The suit accuses 45 Committee of spending as much as $38 million on the 2016 election, with every one of its social media statements supporting Trump or opposing Clinton.
"Yet 45Committee has not registered with the (Federal Elections Commission) as a political committee," the suit says.
"In failing to do so, Defendant has violated and continues to violate federal law, causing harm to Plaintiff CLC and the electorate at large, by concealing critical information about its sources of funding and the recipients of its spending in support of then-candidate Trump. That concealment continues today."
CLC is appealing Mehta's ruling.