To most supporters of Pete Buttigieg, the tweet probably seemed innocuous: A senior adviser to Mr. Buttigieg, Michael Halle, simply noted that the candidate’s military record would be an asset in Nevada.
But critics say Mr. Halle’s tweet also served as a Bat Signal to VoteVets, the super PAC supporting Mr. Buttigieg’s candidacy, with an unmistakable directive: Run ads in Nevada on this issue….
But a campaign finance watchdog group filed a complaint on Tuesday, alleging that Mr. Halle’s tweet ran afoul of federal regulations. Though the F.E.C. allows super PACs to use “publicly available” information to create ads, the complaint said the agency did not allow ads to be created and distributed at the “request or suggestion” of a candidate or his agent.
“It was the Buttigieg campaign’s obvious and detailed request for super PAC support here that crossed the legal line,” said Brendan Fischer, the director of the federal reform program at the Campaign Legal Center, the watchdog group that filed the complaint.