Trump defeats Democrats’ lawsuit over election commission independence

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By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -A Washington, D.C. judge has dismissed the Democratic Party’s lawsuit accusing U.S. President Donald Trump of violating federal election law by trying to assert control over the independent Federal Election Commission.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled on Tuesday night that three national Democratic committees lacked a “concrete and imminent injury” to justify suing now, because they did not show Trump would violate election law.

The lawsuit filed on February 28 was the Democratic Party’s first against Trump during the Republican’s second White House term. Hundreds of lawsuits challenging the administration’s actions have been filed.

Neither the Democratic party nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment on Wednesday. The White House did not immediately respond to a similar request.

Democrats challenged Trump’s February 18 executive order giving the White House more control over traditionally independent agencies including the election commission, National Labor Relations Board and Securities and Exchange Commission.

They objected to language making Trump’s and Attorney General Pam Bondi’s views on questions of law “controlling” for federal employees performing their official duties, and bans executive branch employees from advancing contrary views.

The plaintiffs included the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In a 14-page decision, Ali said White House lawyers assured that the administration would not invoke Trump’s order to dictate election commission activity, and commissioners would not interpret the order as a command to vote a particular way.

Ali, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, also found no imminent injury based on Democrats’ claim they were “chilled” from pursuing campaign strategies because a Trump-controlled election commission might reject them.

“The court does not doubt that the committees would have cause for profound concern were the FEC’s independence to be compromised,” the judge wrote.

But he said Supreme Court precedent required the committees to show that their relationship with the bipartisan commission has changed or will change. “They have not done so,” he said.

The election commission oversees elections and enforces campaign finance laws. Congress created it in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

The case is Democratic National Committee et al v Trump et al, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, No. 25-00587.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)