Nassau County Democrats file Federal Elections Commission complaint over Donald Trump campaign rally

Nassau County Democrats filed a complaint with the  Federal Election Commission  on Thursday alleging an "illegal and unreported in-kind contribution" by providing municipal services to host former President Donald Trump's  rally Wednesday at the Nassau Coliseum. 

The morning after tens of thousands of people gathered at the county-owned Uniondale property, legislators are calling on the Trump campaign, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and the Nassau County Republican Committee to reimburse county taxpayers for what they claim to be $1 million to deploy county police and public works personnel to staff the 15-hour event. 

"Yesterday was the biggest taxpayer-funded political event in Nassau County history — and that is saying a lot," Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove), the Nassau legislature's minority leader, said at a news conference in Mineola. "County taxpayers were forced to foot the bill of a partisan rally orchestrated by Bruce Blakeman and the Trump campaign." 

Blakeman, a Republican and staunch supporter of Trump, declined to provide Newsday with the cost to staff the event. In two security briefings earlier this week, he said each member of the county police department would be on duty to assist state troopers and the U.S. Secret Service in protecting the former president.

The rally at the 16,000-seat Coliseum drew people early Wednesday morning and a strong police presence included the K-9 unit, the horse-mounted unit, aviation unit and special operations. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, dodged an apparent assassination attempt three days before the Coliseum rally. 

“Nassau County provides security and safety to all public figures and public events regardless of party affiliation. I guess Democrat leaders really do want Trump killed but it ain’t happening in Nassau County!” Blakeman said in a statement.

Democratic leaders rebuked Blakeman's response.

Legis. Seth Koslow (D-Merrick) said the move is "not about safety or leadership, it's about corruption." 

"We didn't say the police should not be there. The police should be there. We want everyone safe. But the campaign should pay for that additional service. It shouldn't be on the taxpayers to deal with that and pay that cost," Koslow said. 

According to the complaint filed with the FEC, Democrats argued an "in-kind contribution, which includes goods or services provided to a campaign without charge or at less than market value, must be reported and properly accounted for under the law."

The complaint goes on to state, "The deployment of Nassau County police and other municipal employees, along with helicopters, and other services for this rally, without any reimbursement or reporting, violates these provisions." 

The FEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Shanna Ports, an attorney with the Campaign Legal Center based in Washington, D.C., told Newsday that federal campaign finance laws permit a local government to send additional police officers to a campaign even "solely to ensure the safety of attendees — consistent with how it would respond to any non-campaign event.

"Conversely, if government employees are providing any additional campaign services beyond security, such as helping to set up the event or driving supporters to the event to increase attendance, then the costs for those employees’ services would be a ‘contribution’ that would have to be reimbursed by the campaign to avoid violating the relevant contribution limits and prohibitions set forth in federal campaign finance laws,” Ports said in an email.

Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo on Thursday called the complaint "baseless and sloppily prepared" and said Democratic legislators "erroneously contended" the committee financially benefited from a fundraiser associated with the rally.

"In fact, the Nassau County Republican Committee realized no financial benefit directly or indirectly from activities at or associated with the event," Cairo said in a statement. 

Other municipalities have asked the Trump campaign for reimbursement without success, according to multiple news reports.

Democratic legislators noted the county has negotiated for police overtime to be reimbursed for large-scale events. A contract between the Blakeman administration and the T20 World Cup cricket tournament paid $100,000 per day for police costs associated with the June event.

With Vera Chinese