Kanye West treasurer resigns, alleges possible ‘unlawful’ campaign transaction

Patrick Krason, the treasurer for Ye’s, better known as Kanye West, still-active presidential campaign account, told a federal regulator he had resigned on Monday, alleging in a letter to the rapper-turned-candidate that campaign advisor Milo Yiannopoulos had possibly broken federal campaign finance law. Yiannopoulos denied the allegation.

The change signals a broader political shakeup for the rapper, also known as Ye, who has floated running for president again in 2024, although he has not filed a formal statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. The Daily Beast reported last week that Yiannopoulos had returned to lead Ye’s political operation.

Yiannopoulos, a longtime far-right provocateur, had previously worked with Ye’s campaign but departed in December, shortly before Krason was hired.Krason had served as the campaign treasurer since December, and told the FEC that he had resigned in a Monday letter. All campaigns are required to have a treasurer to accept donations, make disbursements and file mandated reports with the agency.

In a separate letter addressed to Ye and obtained by POLITICO, Krason said he had been told he was going to be terminated by Yiannopoulos but was resigning before that was made official. He also said he had recently learned of a “potentially serious criminal transaction” involving the Kanye 2020 campaign, saying that Yiannopoulos “submitted falsified invoices and for expenditures that would be deemed unlawful” in November 2022, before Krason ᴀssumed the role as treasurer. He added that there was too much “personal animosity” for a professional relationship with Yiannopoulos.