As the countdown to 2024 gets underway, Donald Trump turns up the heat on his rumored primary opponent, Gov. Ron DeSantis.
But hurling insults, and exposing DeSantis’s contradictory culture war rhetoric isn’t enough for one group of Trump loyalists who accuse the governor of breaking state law.
Proving that irony is dead, the Pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc. filed a complaint against DeSantis for running afoul of ethics rules by running a “shadow campaign,” in violation of Florida law and the state’s constitution.
A similar allegation the MAGA king himself, Donald Trump, was previously accused of by a Democratic PAC.
Read the complaint below.
“Governor DeSantis is already a de facto candidate for President of the United States under federal election laws,” the group wrote in a letter to Florida Commission on Ethics Chair Glenton Gilzean, Jr.
Sponsored Links
“Governor DeSantis, in concert with certain associated political committees, political consultants, and a 501(c)(4) organization, has solicited and received millions of dollars’ worth of illegal gifts in violation of Florida State ethics laws.”
Though he’s expected to announce a run for the White House, DeSantis has a problem – the state’s Resign to Run law.
This means that the Florida führer would have to resign his recently reelected position of governor first.
Sponsored Links
Seemingly unwilling to do either, instead DeSantis has been promoting his new book and doing political events across the country – profiting heavily as big-money GOP donors jump off the Trump Train in droves.
DeSantis’s camp denounced the super PAC’s complaint as a “frivolous and politically motivated attack.”
“It’s inappropriate to use state ethics complaints for partisan purposes,” Taryn Fenske, a spokeswoman for the governor’s office said.
But MAGA Inc. disagrees.
Sponsored Links
“Governor DeSantis’s failure to declare his candidacy is no mere oversight,” the super PAC wrote. “It is a coordinated effort specifically designed for him to accept, as illegal campaign contributions and certain personal benefits.”
MAGA Inc. has asked the Ethics Commission to penalize DeSantis if he fails to officially resign.
A list of suggestions by the group includes impeachment, public censure, removal from office, and fines of three times that of illegal gifts.
Original reporting by Michael C. Bender at The New York Times.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
