A nonprofit focused on social justice has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), claiming that political groups supporting Donald Trump’s potential 2024 presidential run have concealed where his legal fees are coming from.
The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), a legal nonprofit, stated in the complaint that between December 2022 and March 2024, five political committees linked to the Trump campaign paid $7.2 million to Red Curve Solutions, LLC, based in Massachusetts, specifically designated for reimbursing legal expenses.
Bradley Crate, identified as the manager of Red Curve, holds the position of treasurer for all five committees, as per the CLC.
On its website, Red Curve characterizes itself as a nonprofit accountability firm established to guarantee that political organizations, political action committees, and state parties maintain compliance amid “the ever-evolving landscape of political fundraising and advocacy.”
As per the CLC’s complaint, the payments indicate that Red Curve frequently fronted funds for President Trump’s legal expenses, funds that were “provided by other vendors, for which Red Curve was reimbursed by the committees.”
“This apparent payment scheme, however, violates the reporting requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act (‘FECA’), which requires that committees provide detailed information about who they are paying for services, and how much they are paying for those services,” the complaint stated.
The Trump campaign committees mentioned include Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc.; Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee; Save America; Trump Make America Great Again Committee; and Make America Great Again PAC.
“When federal candidates and committees spend money to influence elections, they have to disclose that spending in publicly filed reports, which creates transparency for voters trying to decide who to vote for and helps ensure accountability if donors’ money is misused,” the CLC said in a statement.
“Federal campaign finance laws require candidates and committees to publicly disclose not only how much they’re spending overall, but who’s getting paid to provide campaign services, and how much they’re getting paid for those services,” the statement included.
Even with these regulations in place, the Trump campaign committees “appear to have violated these federal reporting requirements,” the CLC stated, by making “108 disbursements totaling more than $7.2 million” to Red Curve.
“On their face, the Trump committees’ reports state that Red Curve isn’t being paid to provide legal services, it’s being reimbursed for legal services—suggesting that Red Curve paid or advanced money to the lawyers that actually provided those services,” the CLC stated.
“The result of this setup is that the committees aren’t disclosing the lawyers and law firms providing legal services—or how much they’re being paid—which is what the law requires.”
The CLC referred to legal precedent that guarantees transparency in the expenditure of campaign funds, noting that the $7.2 million “exceeds the amount they have reported paying to any lawyer or law firm.”
“Because of this payment-and-reimbursement scheme, voters have no idea who’s been paid over $7.2 million by Trump’s committees,” the CLC stated. “And the reporting failure is potentially still ongoing—making it imperative that this situation be resolved quickly and transparently.”
CLC Senior Director Erin Chlopak urged the FEC to investigate, highlighting the importance of transparency in campaign finances.
She emphasized that obscuring such information not only complicates the determination of legal violations but also deprives voters of making informed decisions at the ballot box.
President Trump is currently facing a significant legal challenge with four criminal indictments across four cities, totaling 91 felony counts.
The communication director for the Trump campaign, Steven Cheung, dismissed these cases as “witch hunts” and assured that Trump’s legal team would vigorously defend him against what he termed “Biden Trials.”
However, neither the Donald J. Trump for President 2024 committee nor Red Curve provided comments on the complaint when approached by the press.
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