A Democratic political action committee, End Citizens United, has taken legal action by filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter). The complaint alleges that an interview conducted on August 12 between Trump and Musk breached FEC regulations regarding corporate campaign contributions.

The two-hour conversation between Trump and Musk took place on Monday evening, albeit delayed by 40 minutes due to technical difficulties. During the event, Musk, who recently endorsed Trump, provided a platform for Trump to express criticisms towards Democratic opponent Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden without any opposing views on topics such as the economy and international relations. Trump reiterated familiar narratives about his presidency that he often shares during his campaign trail appearances.

The PAC, End Citizens United, argues that Musk's advocacy for Trump's campaign and his involvement in resolving the livestream's technical issues constitute illegal corporate campaign contributions. Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, issued a statement urging the FEC to investigate the event, stating that it undermines campaign finance laws and sets a dangerous precedent for direct corporate engagement in campaigns.

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 prohibits corporations from making contributions to federal candidates and prevents such candidates from accepting these contributions. The PAC's name, End Citizens United, references a controversial Supreme Court ruling from 2010, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which allowed unlimited campaign spending by anonymous groups, corporations, and unions. However, the ruling still maintains the prohibition on formal coordination between corporations and political campaigns, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

The PAC's complaint highlights the significant value of X's resources provided to Trump's campaign during the event. This includes dedicating staff to address technical difficulties specifically for the campaign event and Musk's participation in the event itself. The complaint argues that such resources are of substantial value to the Trump Campaign.

Furthermore, the PAC argues that X's activities do not fall under the law's exemption for media organizations. The complaint states, "Even if X were a press entity, the owner's hosting a livestream event with a candidate featuring express advocacy is a departure from these usual hosting-and-content-moderation functions." The PAC contends that hosting livestream campaign events is not comparable to X's regular activities, thus not qualifying for protection under the law's exemption for media organizations.

The legal proceedings initiated by End Citizens United aim to address potential violations of campaign finance laws during the interview between Trump and Musk on X. The outcome of this case could set significant precedents for corporate involvement in future campaign events.