Stop Picking on Trump for Following Campaign Finance Law

Source: Conservative Review | June 21, 2016 | Robert Eno

There are plenty of reasons to be wary of Donald Trump and his campaign for president.  The fact that he is following the law regarding the use of his own private assets is not one of them.  The media, conservative and otherwise, is all in a tizzy over Trump “spending 20 percent” of his campaign funds on his own companies.  What the sensationalism doesn’t tell you is that he’s personally responsible for over 70 percent of his campaign funds, and that the reimbursements are required by campaign finance law.  It is illegal for Trump to use assets he owns, through corporations, for campaign purposes without reimbursement from the campaign.  He is now being attacked for following the law.

There are real problems in the Trump campaign’s financials.  None of them have to do with reimbursing his own companies, as required, through a campaign that he has primarily funded.  These potshots take away from the real, clear problem that Trump has had fundraising outside of selling merchandise.  

According to the Federal Election Commission, the Trump campaign had $1.29 million cash on hand at the end of May. That is over $40 million less than the $42.46 million Hillary Clinton had on hand at the same time. It is significantly more than the $175 thousand Gary Johnson has on hand. That is a significant problem.

What makes the Trump filing so concerning is that Mitt Romney had just under $17 million cash on hand at the same time in 2012, and went on to lose spectacularly to Barack Obama. The anemic fundraising is a legitimate concern; focusing on Trump following the law is not.

….

The types of services that must be accounted for border on the absurd.  For instance, if Trump has a personal assistant, or any other Trump Organization employee work on the campaign during business hours, the campaign must reimburse the Trump Organization.  That is what most of the money paid to the Trump Payroll Corporation is.  Any time Trump Tower offices are used, the campaign must pay fair market value for them. 

That Trump wants to use his brand to help his campaign is understandable; he is the brand.  Campaign finance regulations require his campaign to pay for the use of that brand.  That fact is something that conservatives, who believe in free speech, should be fighting against, not using the fact that someone is obeying those onerous rules to attack them.

There are significant problems with the Trump campaign. The campaign following campaign finance law is not one of them.  A focus on that diminishes real concerns one may have with Trump, and his campaign.

Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)
Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.