Summary: Jeb’s leadership PAC responds to Trump’s legal threats with counter-complaint, and sarcasm.
One of the fun aspects of lawyering is when you get a chance to mock your competition with a well drafted letter. Jeb Bush’s leadership PAC, counsel for Right to Rise, gave none other than Donald Trump such a come-uppance after the Trump organization threatened to sue Right to Rise over ads attacking Trump’s record. Seems Trump’s lawyers go the wrong team, since the Right to Rise PAC doesn’t do ads anyway. As they posted it in an epistolatory retort to Trump:
It is possible you are confusing RTR with any number of federal independent expenditure-only committees (i.e. “Super PACs”) that have exercised their First Amendment rights to educate the public about your client’s public statements and stances on important public policy.
Trump is known for threatening lawsuits over anybody who speaks poorly of him, and this practice has continued over in his race for presidency.
Although RTR has no plans to produce any advertisements against your client, we are intrigued (but not surprised) by your continued efforts to silence critics of your clients’ campaign by employing litigious threats and bullying. Should your client actually be elected Commander-in-Chief, will you be the one writing cease and desist letters to Vladmir Putin, or will that be handled by outside counsel? … If you have the time between bankruptcy filings and editing reality show contracts, we urge you to flip through the Supreme Court’s decision in New York Times v. Sullivan. If your client is so thin-skinned that he cannot handle his critics’presentation of his own public statements, policies and record to the voting public, and if such communications hurt his feelings, he is welcome to purchase air time to defend his record. After all, a wall can be built around many things, but not around the First Amendment.
All this is fun and games, but lacks any real sting. That is, until we get tot his:
Lastly, in light of your confusion over the difference between Leadership PACs and Super PACs, we have to assume you may also be unaware of the FEC’s prohibition on a federal candidate’s use of corporate resources for campaign purposes. Although your client may think he is above the law and be accustomed to using lawsuits to bail out his failed business deals, the Federal Election Campaign Act and the FEC’s Regulations nonetheless apply to him and his campaign. Perhaps the attached complaint, filed today, will serve as a reminder of your client’s legal obligations under federal election laws. Just as your client is attempting to quickly learn the basics of foreign policy, we wish you personally the best in your attempts to learn election law.
Considering how consistently Jeb Bush has snaked around FEC’s coordination rules, this could serve as a self-condemnation. Nevertheless, kudos for taking the time to be sarcastic.
News Source: Americablog