Rebuilding America Now PAC, a pro-Donald Trump super PAC, released an ad this afternoon that seems to violate campaign finance laws by distributing the official logo of the Trump/Pence campaign in a political ad.
The Federal Elections Commission has a lot of confusing rules surrounding what super PACs can and cannot do – but one thing is strictly forbidden: the PAC and the campaign cannot coordinate with one another.
That includes using official campaign logos, like we see at the end of this spot.
According to Federal Election Law, the “financing of the dissemination distribution or republication of candidate campaign materials… shall be considered a contribution.” In other words, if a super PAC showcases official campaign signs or logos, it could amount to a campaign contribution.
Consider this ad from Jeb Bush’s super PAC, Right to Rise:
See how all of the official campaign buttons and signs are blurred out? That’s legal, according to the FEC.
Also, remember in December when Ted Cruz released 13 hours of raw footage with no explanation? That was a veiled signal to his super PACs – giving them footage to use for ads, without actually having to coordinate with them.
Another problem with the pro-Trump PAC is that it seems to be run by Ken McKay, a former manager for Governor Chris Christie’s presidential campaign who was hired by the official Trump campaign in April.
Technically, McKay can work for both the PAC and the campaign, as long he explicitly does not raise money for the official Trump campaign, and does not use the campaign’s resources to raise money for the PAC.
At best, that blurs the lines around super PACs “coordinating” with campaigns.
The original version of this video has been removed by the PAC, and replaced with a new version that incorporates a different logo at the end of the video.
Here's the original ad, as released by the PAC:
The Federal Elections Commission has a lot of confusing rules surrounding what super PACs can and cannot do – but one thing is strictly forbidden: the PAC and the campaign cannot coordinate with one another.
That includes using official campaign logos, like we see at the end of this spot.
According to Federal Election Law, the “financing of the dissemination distribution or republication of candidate campaign materials… shall be considered a contribution.” In other words, if a super PAC showcases official campaign signs or logos, it could amount to a campaign contribution.
Consider this ad from Jeb Bush’s super PAC, Right to Rise:
See how all of the official campaign buttons and signs are blurred out? That’s legal, according to the FEC.
Also, remember in December when Ted Cruz released 13 hours of raw footage with no explanation? That was a veiled signal to his super PACs – giving them footage to use for ads, without actually having to coordinate with them.
Another problem with the pro-Trump PAC is that it seems to be run by Ken McKay, a former manager for Governor Chris Christie’s presidential campaign who was hired by the official Trump campaign in April.
Technically, McKay can work for both the PAC and the campaign, as long he explicitly does not raise money for the official Trump campaign, and does not use the campaign’s resources to raise money for the PAC.
At best, that blurs the lines around super PACs “coordinating” with campaigns.
“Wait, I thought Donald Trump Didn’t Have a Super PAC?”
Donald Trump may say that he doesn’t have a super PAC – but that isn’t really the case. He actually has as many as 15 – like The Great America PAC, Patriots for Trump and “The Rebuilding America Now PAC” to name a few.Will Trump or His Campaign be Held Liable?
That depends on if the FEC receives enough complaints – and then decides to act on them. One thing is certain though – this is probably going to be a headache for the Trump camp.Update:
The original version of this video has been removed by the PAC, and replaced with a new version that incorporates a different logo at the end of the video.
Here's the original ad, as released by the PAC: