DNC files federal complaint alleging RFK Jr.'s super PAC is working too closely with his campaign

WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee on Friday filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, accusing presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. of a “ballot access scheme” that it argues constitutes illegal coordination with a super PAC supporting his independent bid for the White House. The committee alleges that the Super PAC American Values 2024 is working to collect signatures to ensure Kennedy is on the November ballot in key states, but will have to “integrate their expenses” with the campaign in ways that violate federal election rules in order to do so. In a statement, Kennedy’s campaign called the DNC’s accusations “a nonissue being raised by a partisan political entity that seems to be increasingly concerned with its own candidate and viability.” It also said that it had “yet to receive any signatures from American Values PAC or any PAC” but takes “our FEC obligation seriously and are not permitted to tell PACs what they should and should not do with their money.” American Values said in its own statement that it has been working independently from the campaign to get him on the ballot in 12 states and dismissed the DNC complaint as “political games.” “The DNC wants to deny millions of people their basic constitutional voting rights in a relentless onslaught against democracy,” said Tony Lyons, the group’s co-founder. In December, a campaign watchdog group filed a complaint alleging that Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting Republican Ron DeSantis, was coordinating too closely with the Florida governor’s since-suspended presidential campaign.