Earlier this week, End Citizens United (ECU) filed four complaints with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to hold third party campaigns, and the MAGA operatives boosting them, accountable for trying to meddle in elections.
See below for coverage:
Boston Globe: Democratic group files FEC complaint alleging GOP operatives illegally boosted Jill Stein in New Hampshire
Emma Platoff
10/03/24
Key sections:
- The Democratic group End Citizens United has filed a complaint with federal regulators against the Jill Stein campaign and Republican operatives who submitted signatures for her in New Hampshire, alleging that the outside political organizations helped the Green Party candidate secure ballot access in what amounted to an “excessive and illegal” contribution to the campaign.
- “There is strong reason to believe the Stein Campaign, other Respondents named in this Complaint, and future Respondents yet unknown have grievously violated [campaign finance laws] by making, accepting, and/or facilitating excessive illegal in-kind contributions and excessive illegal coordinated expenditures,” reads the complaint, filed with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.
- The Globe reported last month that Jefferson Thomas, a longtime GOP operative who heads a firm called the Synapse Group, had submitted signatures for Stein in several New Hampshire municipalities. Employees of Impact Advocacy Group, another political firm with ties to Republicans, worked with Thomas to deliver the signatures for Stein, according to the complaint. Stein has been certified to appear on the New Hampshire ballot.
- Democratic critics said the signature effort for Stein fits into a broader pattern of meddling by Republicans and affiliated groups, who they say are boosting third-party candidates in the hopes that they will siphon votes away from Vice President Kamala Harris in competitive states.
- “MAGA Republicans are doing everything they can to undermine our elections to prop up the Jill Stein and Cornel West campaigns because they know Donald Trump can’t win without illegal meddling,” End Citizens United president Tiffany Muller said in a statement. “It’s blatantly illegal to work on their behalf and offer professional services without payment — and yet time and time again these third party campaigns are seeing Republican consultants go far and above what is allowed. Everyone involved in this scheme must be held accountable, otherwise it would set an incredibly dangerous precedent for the future of our democracy.”
- If Stein had paid Synapse to collect signatures, the campaign would be required to disclose the help on her campaign finance reports. But Stein’s communications director told the Globe last month the campaign was “not aware of any such effort” in New Hampshire. The complaint from End Citizens United alleges, though, that the Stein campaign must have known about the effort by Republican groups. The complaint from End Citizens United alleges, though, that the Stein campaign must have known about the effort by Republican groups.
- “Given the unique and complicated nature of petition gathering for Presidential candidates, it is virtually impossible for these activities to be taking place without direct coordination between the Stein Campaign” and the Republican groups, the complaint said. “There is no conceivable way IAG and Synapse could have collected, organized, and submitted 4,720 nominating petitions securing the Stein Campaign’s space on the ballot without inside information from the Stein Campaign” about how many signatures it needed and from which parts of the state, the complaint said.
- The signature help was an “in-kind contribution” — meaning goods or services, not direct monetary donations — that needed to be disclosed, the complaint argues.
- The complaint against Stein and the GOP operatives working in New Hampshire was just one of four filed by End Citizens United this week. The group is also filing complaints alleging wrongdoing by third-party candidates Cornel West and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has exited the race and endorsed Trump.
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