Questions over Vindman’s military records evolve into campaign finance probe for super PAC ties
Fox News
A Virginia congressional candidate whose brother was a star witness in the first then-President Donald Trump impeachment is facing allegations of campaign finance violations and misrepresenting his military record.
The campaign staff of Eugene Vindman, a Democratic candidate in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, referred press inquiries about the candidate’s military record to VoteVets, a political action committee (PAC) that supports progressive military veterans running for office. VoteVets has endorsed Vindman, a former Army infantry officer and Army lawyer.
Two watchdog groups – the Functional Government Initiative and the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust – allege in separate complaints to the Federal Election Commission that this is illegal coordination between the campaign and the super PAC. The FEC complaints allege VoteVets PAC provided a service to the Vindman campaign by managing its press inquiries.
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“The law is quite clear that providing a service to a campaign is an in-kind contribution. Communication is something a campaign usually pays for, not having a super PAC make statements,” Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), told Fox News Digital.
Eugene Vindman is the brother of Col. Alexander Vindman, a former National Security Council member who testified in the 2019 House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This led to Trump’s first House Democrat-led impeachment.
Eugene Vindman is running against Republican Derrick Anderson, a former Army Green Beret.
FACT is basing its complaint on a documented email exchange between a Washington Free Beacon reporter, Vindman’s campaign manager and Travis Tazelaar, the political director VoteVets PAC.
“We have seen campaigns push the limits with super PACs, but this is not just pushing the limits. It’s an explicit in-kind contribution,” Arnold said.
Last month, Vindman’s campaign manager Jeremy Levinson said in the email to a Washington Free Beacon reporter, “I am looping in VoteVets who is going to be providing comments on our behalf to your initial inquiry.”
The campaign manager added, “All future questions on this matter or any matters can be directed to him.”
To say “or any matters” is problematic, Arnold said.
“The traditional timeline for an FEC investigation is long. We hope they can expedite this case given the circumstances,” Arnold said. “The Vindman campaign referred the press to VoteVets on this and any other issues.”
In this case, Tazelaar responded to the Free Beacon’s media inquiry with a statement on Vindman’s behalf.
A Vindman campaign spokesperson was dismissive of the FEC complaints.
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“The bottom line is that we worked with the coordinated side of the VoteVets organization on the response to the Free Beacon outreach,” a Vindman campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The FEC rules are clear that this interaction does not violate its rules and would not constitute an in-kind contribution.”
Similarly, David Mitrani, the general counsel to VoteVets, said there was no FEC violation.
“The claims made in Functional Government Initiative’s complaint is simply false,” Mitrani told Fox News Digital in a statement. “VoteVets’ activities are in full compliance with campaign finance laws.”
The statement only addressed one complaint. In a follow-up email, a VoteVets spokesperson said the statement was intended to address complaints from both the Functional Government Initiative and the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust.
The six-member Federal Election Commission is equally made up of Republicans and Democrats and rulings often end in tie votes.
Federal law on coordinated communication, or 11 CFR 109.21(h); 11 C.F.R. 106.1(c)(1), covers when campaign work “is paid for, in whole or in part, by a person other than that candidate, authorized committee, or political party committee.” The law also prohibits an outside “vendor,” within 120 days of the election from developing “media strategy, including the selection or purchasing of advertising slots,” developing “the content of a public communication,” and “producing a public communication.”
The controversy over campaign finance laws stems from the questions over Vindman’s military record.
Vindman’s GOP opponent Derrick Anderson said Vindman “should answer all these legitimate questions about inflating his military resume.”
“I respect that he served in the military, but voters deserve answers – not another D.C. politician that hides from them,” Anderson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Right now, Vindman won’t even debate me on TV because he’s not willing to answer questions about the simple fact that he’s not being straight with voters about his resume.”
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Vindman had previously said he “fought for our nation in combat,” however a 2019 Daily Mail article said Vindman “has not seen combat.” In mid-August, the Washington Free Beacon reported that when it contacted the Vindman campaign, campaign chief Levinson copied VoteVets Tazelaar and referred “all future questions” to the PAC.
In its response to the Beacon, the VoteVets spokesperson reportedly said, “There was no front line in Iraq — and the Vindman family was grateful that Eugene was able to return home unscathed while so many other of our brothers and sisters in arms did not.”