Advocates fear 'dark money' blitz after $82.5M transfer fuels DeSantis' presidential race
Advocates are warning of a blitz of "dark money" spending following the official transfer of $82.5 million in funds raised to support Gov. Ron DeSantis’ gubernatorial election campaign to Never Back Down Inc., a political action committee that supports his presidential campaign.
The transfer is drawing legal scrutiny, and sparked a formal complaint by the Washington D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center filed with the Federal Election Commission against DeSantis on May 30 following early reports of the maneuver.
The Empower Parents PAC, which was formerly called Friends of Ron DeSantis, made the $82.5 million transfer to the Never Back Down super PAC on May 31, records show.
But the legal center claims the transfer violates federal laws that bar political candidates from coordinating spending with super PACs.
"We have laws that say if you are running from federal office you can't control super PAC money, and that's clearly what DeSantis did here," CLC's Legal Director Adav Noti told the Paste BN NETWORK. "That money was in his state account, he controlled it, and he was also running for president at the time. So when he arranged for it to a federal super PAC he committed a major violation of federal law."
“They're not independent," he said. "That money was controlled by DeSantis. Everything we are talking about here is intended to prevent corruption in federal elections, and money can be a very powerful corrupting force in elections."
Representatives from the DeSantis campaign and Never Back Down did not return requests for comment on this story.
Massive $82.5 million transfer set to fuel DeSantis campaign, but legality questions rise
Never Back Down was founded in February by Ken Cuccinelli, a former senior Department of Homeland Security official during the Trump presidency who Paste BN once called "one of the nation's most outspoken voices on illegal immigration."
The PAC has raised funds to support DeSantis' run for presidency since before DeSantis publicly announced his candidacy, and has already reported just under $1.29 million spent for advertising targeting states like Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Oklahoma, records show.
But Noti expressed concern over signs that the Never Back Down super PAC could be coordinating its efforts with DeSantis and his campaign.
Records show that DeSantis' principal campaign PAC, called the Ron DeSantis for President PAC, and other affiliated committees even share the same bank in Virginia as Never Back Down.
"Super PACs are a creation of the Supreme Court," Noti said. "They did that in a ruling that said if a PAC is completely independent of any candidate, they don't make contributions to candidates, they don't coordinate activities with candidates, they act totally independently, then they are not subject to the same contribution limits that candidates are subject to."
Noti says the super PAC appears to be operating some sort of a ground game for the campaign.
"It's hard to imagine that the super PAC and the campaign are operating two entirely distinct ground games," he said. "Then, if they are coordinating, that would be a major violation of federal law."
The cash infusion will fund massive spending in a primary showdown against former President Donald Trump, but the legal center believes the transfer violates federal statutes.
Under federal law, a candidate cannot transfer funds from PACs established to support them in a non-federal election campaign to a PAC that supports them in a federal campaign. The law does allow candidates to refund those dollars to the original donors with intent to solicit those donors again for a donation to the federal campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The FEC has not made a decision over the complaint, but Noti said it would take at least four votes in favor of an investigation for the commission to delve deeper into claims against DeSantis. The six-member commission is comprised of three Republicans and three Democrats, so enforcement action is rare as they often fail with a split vote, he said.
"There have been very, very few enforcement matters in recent years where the FEC has opened an investigation," Noti said. "They almost never do, but somebody who files a complaint with the FEC has the option of suing in court if the FEC doesn't act on it."
How DeSantis distanced himself from Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC
During the weeks leading up to announcement of his presidential candidacy, DeSantis quietly took steps to distance himself from the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC that fueled his two successful Florida gubernatorial campaigns.
On May 5, DeSantis withdrew a statement of solicitation originally filed in 2018, when the Florida PAC was formed, that indicated that he had established and maintained the committee, records show.
"I am no longer associated with the political committee and do not directly or indirectly solicit, cause to be solicited, or accept any contributions on its behalf," DeSantis wrote in the signed withdrawal notice.
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Three days later on May 8 District 11 Florida Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, a former Florida Republican Party chair and close ally of DeSantis, was named as the PAC's chair. Ingoglia filed a new statement of solicitation authorizing the PAC to solicit funds on his behalf, indicating he now maintains and controls the committee.
Seven days later, on May 15 he changed the name of the committee to the Empower Parents PAC, and officially shut down the committee two weeks after that on May 30. DeSantis announced his bid for presidency on May 24.
The next day, on May 31, the Empower Parents PAC transferred $82.5 million raised to support DeSantis' gubernatorial race to the Never Back Down, Inc. PAC. to supports his presidential campaign, records show.
Experts leery of dark money tactics during 2024 presidential election
The $82.5 million transfer and the use of AI generated images could be a sign that dark money tactics often employed by Florida political candidates are already in play for DeSantis during his bid for presidency, according to the Florida Center for Government Accountability.
The nonprofit has extensive knowledge of dark money's influence on Florida elections, and tactics that often accompany it.
"Florida is known to be ethically challenged when it comes to campaign finance," said Michael Barfield, the center's director of public access. "In PACs and super PACs that dark money flows through in unbridled fashion. It didn't take Gov. DeSantis and his advisors long to figure out that the can duplicate that model for his ambition to become the next president of the United States."
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He said campaign funding is often difficult to track because it is often masked by transfers between multiple accounts, PACs and other entities, and are not always subject to reporting requirements until long after an election is over.
He said the transfer of the $82.5 million seems to take a page out of the political playbook often seen in Florida, and cautioned that the state is notorious for misleading campaign materials — alluding to an AI generated image of former President Donald Trump hugging Dr. Anthony Fauci in an ad distributed by DeSantis War Room, the DeSantis campaign's rapid response platform run by his former spokesperson Christina Pushaw.
"Citizens and voters should be worried, very worried, about dark money that is designed to influence the outcome of elections," Barfield said. "Particularly when there is sketchy at best and outright false information being put forth."
"People are gullible," he said. "They look at these flyers, these text messages, these AI produced ads, and it works. That's why they keep doing it. It's a tried and true method, and the voters are deceived."
Jesse Mendoza is a reporter with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, which is a part of the Paste BN Network. He can be reached at jjmendoza@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @Reportographer