OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The same attorney who landed a $113 thousand fine from the campaign of Hillary Clinton now has his sights set on President Joe Biden.
Attorney Dan Backer secured the fine from the Clinton campaign for falsely reporting monies paid to Perkins Coie as legal expenses when it was actually spent to concoct the now infamous Steele Dossier which was the predicate to begin the Russia collusion investigation, PJ Media reported.
He is now representing The Committee to Defeat the President, an anti-Biden PAC, and demanding that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) declare Biden a candidate for president in 2024.
Backer filed a formal complaint with the FEC in October 2021. It asserted President Biden met the definition of a candidate for re-election in 2024 based on his public statements. While the FEC opened an investigation, it has not directed the Biden campaign to correct the situation. By contrast, Backer noted the Trump campaign filed the appropriate paperwork for 2020 on Inauguration Day 2017. Earlier this week, Backer sent another letter asking the FEC to compel Biden to comply with federal law.
The letter reiterates that Biden’s principal campaign committee, Biden for President, and the Biden Victory Fund have failed to amend their Statements of Organization to indicate they are now spending money for political benefit and raising funds for Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign. According to Backer, failure to do so deprives the public of campaign finance information it is entitled to under the law.
“The United States Code requires each candidate for federal office to designate in writing a political committee to serve as the principal campaign committee for his candidacy within 15 days of becoming a candidate,” the report said.
“On or about November 6, 2020, Biden filed an amended Statement of Candidacy stating that he is a presidential candidate in the 2020 election, not the 2024 election. It identified the Biden Victory Fund as an authorized committee to raise funds on his behalf,” it said.
The letter from the attorney explains further.
“As described in detail in the Committee to Defeat the President’s Verified Complaint, while Biden has met the legal definition of “candidate” for the 2024 presidential election, he has failed to file the required Statement of Candidacy in violation of the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations. Additionally, Biden’s principal campaign committee, Biden for President (the “Campaign”) has failed to amend its Statement of Organization to indicate the Campaign is now the campaign committee for Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign, depriving the public of information it is entitled to under the law. Likewise, an authorized committee for Biden, and the Joint Fundraising Representative for the Campaign, Biden Victory Fund, has failed to amend its Statement of Organization to reflect such changes. In the alternative, Biden Victory Fund, an authorized committee for Biden, and the Joint Fundraising Representative for the Campaign, has illegally solicited and/or accepted over $1.9 million in impermissible contributions,” the attorney said in his letter.
“Therefore, Complainant Committee to Defeat the President brought its Verified Complaint to request the Federal Election Commission to commence enforcement proceedings against Biden, his Campaign, and Biden Victory Fund. In addition to the facts described in detail in the Verified Complaint, Complainant hereby supplements its Complaint with additional evidence that Biden is a candidate in the 2024 presidential election and thus, that Respondents have violated the United States Code and the Code of Federal Regulations by not filing a Statement of Candidacy and failing to properly amend their Statements of Organization. Specifically, Complainant personally reviewed a news article in the New York Intelligencer, dated May 24, 2022, which stated ‘in [Biden’s] mind there’s no question he’s running. ‘That’s my expectation,’ [Biden] said early in his tenure. ‘Yes!’ he told an interviewer nine months later, sighing a little performatively at having to keep repeating it,” he said.
