How Trump's Latest Announcement Made it Difficult for Supporters

Some pro-Donald Trump political groups say the president’s early declaration of his re-election candidacy…is weighing them down with paperwork and compliance costs.

“President Trump is now a clearly identified federal candidate, and spending any funds to make public communications that could be deemed as being in support of him requires filing” a notice of an independent expenditure with the FEC, said Dan Backer, a Republican attorney who represents both groups.

Backer’s two groups have together reported more than $540,000 in pro-Trump independent expenditures since last month. Those funds paid for digital and television ads, email marketing efforts, and phone-banking campaigns, according to FEC filings.

“My clients are regularly filing small communications programs and tests that might otherwise not be reportable, because the burden of doing so, while frustrating and not insubstantial, costs less than dealing with the whining from bitter Clinton allies looking for revenge against the two most successful and impactful outside voices this past cycle,” Backer said in an email.