Trump raised more than $10 million right after the election. He says he’s paying off debts. Two groups say it’s an illegal fundraising scheme.

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign accepted illegal contributions in the weeks after election day and falsely recorded them as paying down the campaign’s debt, according to a complaint filed by two watchdog groups on Thursday.

The Campaign Legal Center and left-leaning non-profit Common Cause allege that the campaign violated federal election laws designed to prevent campaigns from circumventing contribution limits. The groups are accusing Team Trump of attributing donations for his 2020 campaign—yes, he’s already a declared candidate—to his previous, 2016 run, freeing up donors to give more down the line.

The campaign began fundraising almost immediately after Trump’s Nov. 8 victory, archived versions of its website show. It raised about $10.5 million from Nov. 9 through the end of the year, according to FEC filings.

By earmarking those donations for debt reduction, the campaign classified them as 2016 receipts, meaning those contributions will not count towards the donors’ 2020 contribution limits.

“By falsely reporting post-election contributions as being for 2016 debt retirement, Trump may be trying to illegally double what a contributor can give for the 2020 primaries,” Campaign Legal Center general counsel Larry Noble said in a statement on the complaint.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations.

…..