Democratic organization End Citizens United filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Tuesday about an interview between former President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Trump spoke with Musk for about two hours on X, a social media platform owned by Musk, on Monday night after the conversation was delayed by technical issues. Complaints End Citizens United argued Tuesday that the interview was a corporate donation that violates campaign finance laws.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s rally at X was not only a rambling series of false accusations marred by technical issues, but also a clearly illegal corporate contribution to Donald Trump’s campaign,” Tiffany Mueller, president of End Citizens United, said in a statement. statement.
“This brazen corporate donation undermines campaign finance laws and sets a dangerous precedent that corporations are free to directly intervene in election activities. The FEC must investigate this corporate-funded campaign and hold Mr. Trump, his campaign, and Company X accountable,” she added.
The lawsuit notes that federal campaign finance law prohibits corporations from donating to federal candidates, and candidates cannot accept the donations. The lawsuit alleges that the former president’s “conversation” with Musk “constitutes a virtual election event for Donald J. Trump funded by X.”
The two discussed a wide range of topics during the livestream, including the assassination attempt on President Trump, immigration, and the economy. Musk is a supporter of President Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
The court also said that while the law allows for media immunity, the resources X used “to support Mr. Trump’s election campaign are not protected by media immunity.”
“Here, the significant resources that X devoted to hosting the Trump Campaign’s events, including dedicating staff in real time to address technical issues specific to election events and the owners’ time to attend the events, were of great value to the Trump Campaign,” the lawsuit reads.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign and X for comment.
