FEC slaps DeSantis campaign with violation letter

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) sent a 46-page violation notice to the treasurer of the Presidential campaign of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), in a recent finding by independent journalist Laura Loomer.

The FEC letter

Last month Laura Loomer announced her intention to review – extensively – the quarterly campaign finance reports by the Federal Election Commission. She stated publicly that she would scrutinize the reports for the DeSantis campaign, looking for any special FEC communications. (And also looking for any contributions from “special interests.”)

Newsweek carried her announcement, which she made after the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center complained to the FEC about DeSantis’ campaign. At issue: several apparently unreported transfers from ECN Capital of Canada, to Friends of Ron DeSantis. In addition to which, Laura Loomer, on June 15, discovered a report of a transfer of $82.5 million from Empower Parents PAC, once known as Friends of Ron DeSantis, to DeSantis’ Presidential campaign support PAC, Never Back Down. The transfer appears as the second-to-last line in this lengthy Empower Parents expenditure report.

Yesterday, Loomer shared photos of the first three pages of the violation letter:

She also said to the DeSantis campaign,

In reaction, one other user suggested that letters like these are standard FEC boilerplate to campaigns. He suggested this was nothing more serious than a clerical error.

But another user shared another example of possible impropriety: the reappointment of Scott Wagner and Chauncey Gross to the South Florida Water Management District. The problem, according to Floridian Press, is that Messrs. Gross and Wagner have both supported DeSantis’ campaign, with substantial sums.

Still another user pointed out more reasons to question the propriety of the transfers.

Will DeSantis drop out?

One user renewed her prediction that DeSantis would drop out of the race by August 18.