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Biden, an 81-year-old Democrat who was in a tight race with
Republican challenger Donald Trump, endorsed Harris when he
ended his reelection bid on Sunday. Harris quickly took control
of Biden's campaign accounts and on Monday night wrapped up the
nomination by winning pledges from a majority of the delegates
who at next month's party convention will determine the nominee,
according to her campaign.
The fight over the accounts, which had roughly $95 million in
the bank at the end of June, is part of a multi-pronged effort
by Republicans to stymie Harris' bid to lead the Democratic
ticket.
The Trump campaign argued that Harris undertook a "brazen money
grab," according to the filing by David Warrington, the
campaign's general counsel. In the filing, which was shared with
Reuters, Warrington said Harris was in the process of committing
what he described as the "the largest campaign finance violation
in American history."
Saurav Ghosh, a lawyer at the Campaign Legal Center, a
non-partisan watchdog group, has said that because Harris was
already part of "Biden for President" as the vice presidential
candidate, her claim on the money should be secure.
In any case, election regulators are unlikely to resolve the
issue before the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The FEC said they were unable to comment on unresolved
enforcement matters.
Harris' campaign has said it had raised $100 million since
Sunday, when Biden stepped back from the campaign and endorsed
her - exceeding Biden's remaining tally in just a few days. Her
campaign brushed off the FEC complaint.
"Republicans may be jealous that Democrats are energized to
defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, but baseless legal
claims – like the ones they've made for years to try to suppress
votes and steal elections – will only distract them while we
sign up volunteers, talk to voters, and win this election," said
Harris campaign spokesperson Charles Kretchmer Lutvak.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Additional reporting by Trevor
Hunnicutt; Editing by Mary Milliken and Christopher Cushing)
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