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 that supports progressive military veterans running for office.
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 , told Fox News Digital. Eugene Vindman is the brother of retired Lt. Col.
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.
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.