The brother of a prominent opponent of former President Donald Trump is now facing multiple Federal Election Commission complaints filed by watchdog groups.
Eugene Vindman is currently running as a Democrat in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
Eugene Vindman is brother to retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a former National Security Council member who testified against Trump in the former president’s impeachment.
Vindman’s brother made a name for himself in a failed attempt to kick Trump from office over a July 2019 phone call between the 45th president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump was eventually acquitted of all charges during a trial in the Senate and remained in office.
Alexander Vindman wasn’t so fortunate.
The would-be champion over Trump was himself booted from his White House position in 2020 and given an armed escort off the grounds of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Should the FEC expedite the process for these complaints?
Yes: 98% (106 Votes)
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Thanks to complaints filed by two separate watchdogs, it’s now the former National Security Council member’s brother who is facing scrutiny for alleged unethical campaign dealings.
Fox News reported both the Functional Government Initiative and the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust have submitted separate complaints to the FEC, blowing the whistle on Vindman’s campaign.
The watchdogs first caught wind of something foul when Vindman’s campaign answered questions about his military service record by directing people to VoteVets, a progressive PAC.
VoteVets endorses Vindman, and includes a link to donate to the candidate through the PAC itself.
The watchdogs allege VoteVets provides a service to Vindman by taking media inquiries for his campaign, with FACT citing an emailed response to a Washington Free Beacon reporter.
“The law is quite clear that providing a service to a campaign is an in-kind contribution,” Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust executive director Kendra Arnold said, according to Fox News Digital.
“Communication is something a campaign usually pays for, not having a super PAC make statements.”
Arnold said the campaign is not just pushing the limit, but engaging in an “explicit in-kind contribution.”
Time frames provided by the FEC show the process to address complaints typically takes more than half a year, not counting the indeterminate amount of time needed for a full investigation and any potential delays.
Arnold noted the lengthy time frame is not ideal with the impending elections. Under the circumstances, she said she hopes the FEC will expedite the process for these complaints.
The Vindman campaign denied any wrongdoing.
“The bottom line is that we worked with the coordinated side of the VoteVets organization on the response to the Free Beacon outreach,” a campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson said evidence brought forward by the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust “does not violate [FEC] rules and would not constitute an in-kind contribution.”
VoteVets was also dismissive of the complaints.
“The claims made in Functional Government Initiatives’ complaint is simply false. VoteVets’ activities are in full compliance with campaign finance laws,” the PAC’s general counsel David Mitrani told Fox News Digital.
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