Jessica Hill
11/7/23
End Citizens United, a group dedicated to reforming campaign finance laws and supporting Democratic candidates, filed the complaint against Brown last month with the Federal Election Commission, accusing Brown of violating the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
“Sam Brown’s scheme represents a new frontier of misleading donors and taking advantage of higher contribution limits for his own self benefit,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United in a statement.
Brown’s campaign declined to comment further on the specific claims addressed in the complaint.
After Brown lost the 2022 Senate primary to former Attorney General Adam Laxalt, his campaign incurred more than $344,000 in debt, according to campaign finance data. Brown created a new PAC called Duty First, which he said would help elect Republicans and defeat far left Democrats.
Brown then transferred his old campaign debt to that new PAC, rather than retiring debt through his existing campaign committee. The complaint cited a CNN report, which found that fewer than 2 percent of the of the Duty First funds went toward candidates. End Citizens United alleges the PAC raised the funds without disclosing it would go toward debt retirement, which the group claims is an FEC violation.