The leaders of No Labels, a group preparing a potential independent presidential ticket, have asked the Justice Department to investigate potential criminal charges against a range of Democratic-leaning groups and activists who have been opposing their effort.
“It’s one thing to oppose candidates who are running; it’s another to use intimidation tactics to prevent them from even getting in front of the voters,” the letter reads.
The Justice Department has not responded to the letter, according to No Labels leaders. The group scheduled an event at the National Press Club on Thursday to announce the letter.
The argument that No Labels puts forward in the letter is untested and unusual for a political group. Efforts to pressure donors, candidates and endorsers from taking various actions are the currency of politics, and courts generally give significant leeway to campaigns to compete publicly and privately for support.
Dan Webb, a Chicago attorney and No Labels volunteer who also signed the letter, said the group hopes that any federal investigation turns up evidence of wrongdoing.
“We don’t have subpoena or grand jury powers,” Webb said in a statement about why the group has not yet filed a lawsuit. “We cannot do the type of investigation that is needed like DOJ can.”
One of the groups named in the letter, the Lincoln Project, responded to it on social media.
“Like Trump, they want to weaponize the DOJ to get to attack their opponents for protected political speech,” the Lincoln Project said of No Labels. “Make no mistake, we are not intimidated by threats from former Presidents and won’t be from political hacks who think they can stop us in this existential fight for Democracy.”
The letter details a number of incidents that the leaders of No labels believe go beyond the regular rough and tumble of politics. They include an electronic billboard featuring photographs of No Labels CEO Nancy Jacobson and her husband, former Democratic consultant Mark Penn, that was driven around Georgetown during the weekend of the 2023 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
“There is no place for MAGA hate in Georgetown,” the billboard said.
Others involved in the No Labels effort report that their reputations or future business opportunities have been threatened, the letter says. One supporter of the effort, co-founder Holly Page, said another Democrat warned her during a private lunch about her involvement with the presidential effort and asked her what one of her personal clients thought about it. Weeks later, an attorney for that client called to end their business relationship, she said.
Opponents of No Labels, including a range of outside Democratic groups and operatives, have publicly declared their intent to put pressure on donors and potential candidates to steer clear of the group. They point out that third-party candidates have no modern record of success in presidential politics, and there has been no polling that shows the group, even without a named candidate, has a clear path to a victory in the electoral college.
The opponents argue that any No Labels candidacy will probably draw more votes from Democrats than Republicans, potentially delivering a win to former president Donald Trump, who is leading the race for the Republican nomination.
“We are worried about any third party. We realize it is a free country. Anybody can run for president who wants to run for president,” former congressman Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), who is leading one effort to oppose No Labels, said in December. “But we have a right to tell citizens the danger they will face if they vote for any of these third-party candidates.”
Audio of an anti-No Labels meeting acquired by Semafor quoted one participant as suggesting that anyone involved would have their records searched for any embarrassing details.
“If you have one fingernail clipping of a skeleton in your closet, we will find it,” the person said during the call, according to Semafor. “If you think you were vetted when you ran for governor, you’re insane. That was nothing. We are going to come at you with every gun we can possibly find.”
Ballot Access News, which tracks ballot registration, reported that No Labels had gained access or finished the process for access in 16 states in December, including key battlegrounds such as Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina.
Benjamin Chavis, a national co-chair of No Labels who also signed the letter, said efforts to stop the group’s progress were undemocratic.
“When they prevent No Labels from getting ballot access, they’re really preventing the American people from getting ballot access,” he said.