Gabe Kaminsky of the Washington Examiner explains how Democratic operative Marc Elias ended up helping President-elect Donald Trump in this election cycle.
A Federal Election Commission opinion in March that was thanks to legal pressure from Democratic attorney Marc Elias ended up giving an assist to the Trump campaign and is poised to reshape the campaign finance system.
The FEC opinion put forth that political campaigns and outside political action committees may coordinate on canvassing get-out-the-vote efforts, holding that such work does not constitute “public communications” in violation of federal rules.
It was issued because Elias Law Group, the firm of the attorney who has shaped the Democratic Party’s legal apparatus and has long represented top party brass, petitioned the regulator to allow a George Soros-funded PAC to work with party committees and campaigns in Texas.
The opinion was historic and sent shock waves throughout Washington, D.C., where law firms specializing in campaign finance had long advised their political clients that coordination between campaigns and PACs was a strict prohibition. The opinion also held that candidates can access voter data from door-knocking — so long as campaigns pay the outside groups for the information.
“When this came out, I don’t think many, outside a select few political law practitioners, fully realized the implications of this advisory opinion,” said Alexander Lee, an associate in the Political Law practice group at the conservative Compass Legal Group. “I was kind of running around town and making sure everyone on our side knew the changing landscape because I knew the Elias Law Group probably had a pre-written memo to implement this strategy for their clients.”
But,” Lee said, “our side quickly got on top of it and, from the top of the ticket down, implemented this new campaign strategy effectively.”
The FEC advisory opinion, issued in March, paved the way for President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign to enter into agreements for canvassing coordination with outside organizations, including a PAC funded by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.