Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has lodged a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the Washington Post, alleging that the newspaper has made “illegal corporate in-kind contributions to Harris for President.”
The FEC complaint references a Semafor report highlighting how the Washington Post is financially supporting articles that are “critical of Trump as subscribers flee.” The report notes that the Post “aggressively ramped up its paid advertising campaign, boosting dozens of articles related to the election,” beginning on Monday, Oct. 28. According to the report, these efforts focused largely on favorable coverage of Kamala Harris.
The complaint asserts, “The facts support a reasonable inference that The Washington Post made, and Harris for President accepted, an illegal corporate contribution in the form of coordinated communications.” It calls for the Commission to find sufficient grounds for an investigation and to impose appropriate penalties for this perceived interference in electoral integrity.
In a letter dated Oct. 31, Gary Lawkowski, a deputy general counsel for Trump, claimed that “on the eve of the 2024 general election,” the Washington Post is “conducting a dark money corporate campaign in opposition to President Donald J. Trump — pretextually using its own online advertising efforts to promote Kamala Harris’s presidential candidacy.”
He continued, “There is reason to believe that the Washington Post violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and Federal Election Commission regulations by making illegal corporate in-kind contributions.” Lawkowski urged the Commission to promptly investigate the expenditures made by the Washington Post.
Following the announcement that it would not endorse any presidential candidate, the Washington Post faced criticism from its readership and staff. Owner Jeff Bezos defended this decision by stating that “presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election.”
The complaint underscores that the Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits corporations from making contributions or expenditures related to any election or for any candidate or political committee to knowingly accept such contributions.
In a statement, the Trump campaign remarked, “According to reports, the Post is using its advertising powers to promote pro-Kamala and anti-Trump coverage to voters in the final days of the election.” They added, “While they declined to endorse her publicly, they have endorsed her in the dark; so much for ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness.’”
Furthermore, the Trump campaign criticized the mainstream media, saying, “The mainstream media has become nothing more than pro-Kamala propaganda. The Democrat machine must be held accountable.”
The complaint argues that the Washington Post should not be allowed to utilize the FECA’s “press” or “media” exemption in relation to its advertising. Lawkowski noted, “by boosting content to influence the election, The Washington Post is acting as like any other partisan player in the election process, not in its capacity as a press entity.”
He emphasized that “The Washington Post’s public advertising efforts in coordination with the Harris campaign is ‘core electioneering activity’ and thus not protected under the media exemption.”
At the time of writing, the Harris campaign had not provided a response to requests for comment.
