'Bewildered and betrayed': Donors sue centrist No Labels over 'bait-and-switch' scheme

Two wealthy real estate moguls are suing the centrist group No Labels over an alleged "bait-and-switch" scheme involving political donations.

Douglas and Jonathan Durst, who are cousins and serve, respectively, as chairman and president of the Durst Organization, accused the outfit of seeking donations as a bipartisan governing coalition and then making moves to fund a third-party presidential campaign, reported the New York Times.

“This case seeks to hold No Labels accountable for the consequences of its misguided actions that have left its original benefactors like the Dursts feeling bewildered, betrayed and outraged,” the suit says. “No Labels has shifted seismically from its original mission, and its donors, like the Dursts, who believed in the mission and financially supported it, should not have to stand idly by."

“That is because, in a presidential election, anyone who votes for a third-party candidate votes on neither side,” the suit adds. “Indeed, no third-party candidate has ever won a presidential election or even come close to doing so.”

The suit filed in New York State Supreme Court seeks damages and reimbursements for $145,000 made years ago.

“[The Dursts] agreed to fund No Labels because it committed to promote bipartisanship and bridge the political divide," said their attorney Randy Mastro. “They never imagined at the time that No Labels would pivot to becoming the organization behind a quixotic third-party candidacy that could skew the most consequential presidential election of our lifetime. The Dursts believe they were sold a bill of goods, and they want no part of it.”

A spokesperson for No Labels did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the group has been dogged by complaints for the past few years by donors and others who say the group has turned into something other than its original mission.