Cain announced he would suspend his campaign Saturday afternoon. | REUTERS Cain's campaign account will live on

Herman Cain may be “suspending” his presidential campaign instead of ending it altogether.

But as far as the Federal Election Commission is concerned, the distinction is effectively meaningless.


Cain may continue to raise money through his presidential committee regardless of his stated status. And he’ll still need to report campaign account income to the FEC, as well as expenditures and debt, so long as his account remains open.

As of Saturday, it is. And it’s likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.

In order to formally terminate his presidential committee, Cain must first take several steps, including retiring $675,000 in debt he reported in his most recent federal campaign account disclosure — Sept. 30 —only serve to further increase their burden."

Tree also wrote that the process appears to be "of no benefit to the child" and "anything but in their best interests".

Since the Family Court process for cross-sex hormones was instituted in 2004, not a single teenager has been denied treatment.

Tree joins a procession of transgender people, their families, justices, legal experts, and medical professionals who believe the court process is unnecessary.

Advocates say it is a "rubber stamp" process that does little more than delay treatment and provoke great anxiety in transgender children and families.

But despite criticism – and some signs of progress in 2016 – the process can only be overturned by a court appeal or by federal legislation.

Tree noted in his judgment that an appeal overturning the process is unlikely,