New York Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota, and Marc Molinaro"appear" to have unlawfully transferred $4,000 combined between their state and federal committees, according to the left-leaning advocacy group End Citizens United, which filed three separate complaints in mid-April against the congressmen and is calling on the Federal Election Commission to launch an investigation.
D’Esposito, whose 2022 win was widely viewed as a major upset in a district that had not elected a Republican since 1995, was previously a councilman in Hempstead, New York. Molinaro was county executive of Dutchess County, New York, between 2012 and 2023, after serving in the county's legislature and the New York State Assembly.
However, a candidate's nonfederal committee is"prohibited" from transferring"funds or assets" to his or her federal election committee, according to the FEC, which notes that direct contributions constitute a"transfer." End Citizens United alleges there is"irrefutable evidence" that the lawmakers ran afoul of this regulation.