Priya Patel
TLDR:
- The Wisconsin Ethics Commission is recommending prosecutors pursue felony charges against a fundraising group allied with former President Donald Trump for violating campaign finance laws.
- The group allegedly circumvented state campaign finance laws in an effort to oust a powerful state GOP leader in 2022 who refused to back Trump’s claims of election fraud.
In a recent investigation, the bipartisan Wisconsin Ethics Commission recommended prosecutors pursue felony charges against a fundraising group associated with former President Donald Trump for allegedly circumventing state campaign finance laws. The group, Save America PAC, along with several Wisconsin state and local GOP officials, were found to have evaded a cap on campaign donations to funnel money to a candidate challenging a powerful Wisconsin House Speaker who did not support Trump’s claims of election fraud. The commission found that Save America PAC, three local Republican Party organizations, and eight others coordinated to circumvent donation limits by taking advantage of state laws that place no limit on donations political parties make to candidates. The investigation also revealed that Save America PAC is the primary fundraising mechanism for Trump’s reelection bid and is currently financing his legal bills and investigation-related costs stemming from multiple charges and civil lawsuits.
The commission concluded that while Save America PAC itself was not recommended for charges, it alleged that the committee and its agents violated state campaign finance laws. The investigation also looked into a donation by Mike Lindell, a proponent of election conspiracy theories, to a local GOP party group, but decided against referring charges against him. Local district attorneys have 60 days to decide whether to prosecute those involved in the violations, and if no action is taken, the commission may request the state’s Attorney General to consider pressing charges. The Trump campaign and the candidate involved in the primary challenge have not yet provided comments on the matter.
