Trump whistleblower and Democratic candidate for House of Representatives accused of violating federal law in FEC complaint

EXCLUSIVE — Eugene Vindman, a Trump whistleblower turned Democratic congressional candidate in Virginia, is facing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over his campaign's alleged illegal collaboration with an outside group.

The complaint, filed with the FEC on Wednesday by the Functional Government Initiative, asks the agency to investigate Vindman, the Democrat's campaign and a political action committee called VoteVets because, according to the watchdog group, a recent interaction with the press appears to show that VoteVets, which supports progressive veterans for office like Vindman, made an “excessive and improper” in-kind donation to Vindman's campaign.

“The public is all too aware that politicians do not behave honorably,” said Pete McGinnis, spokesman for the Functional Government Initiative. “We hope the FEC takes these blatant violations by Mr. Vindman seriously.”

The lawsuit against Vindman comes as he prepares to run against Republican former Green Beret Derrick Anderson in November to represent Virginia's 7th Congressional District. The seat is leaning Democratic and is open since Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) announced her candidacy for governor of Virginia. Vindman and his brother, Alexander Vindman, uncovered a phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and then-President Donald Trump in 2019 — which led to Trump's first impeachment.

In Wednesday’s letter to FEC Acting General Counsel Lisa J. Stevenson, the Functional Government Initiative cited a report from this week in Washington Free Beacon. The news agency reached out to the Vindman campaign team for comment on apparent discrepancies regarding Vindman's military service. Vindman's campaign manager, Jeremy Levinson, responded that “any future questions” could be directed to Travis Tazelaar, political director of VoteVets. In addition, Tazelaar provided the news agency with a statement on Vindman.

VoteVets is a so-called hybrid PAC, meaning it is said to maintain one bank account for direct campaign donations and another “non-donation account” for outside advertising spending. VoteVets endorsed Vindman, spending over $400,000 on TV ads supporting Vindman and donating $10,000 to Vindman's campaign, federal records show.

Under federal law, super PACs and campaigns are not allowed to collaborate, including in communications. That rule would likely extend to hybrid PACs, says Kendra Arnold, who leads a group called the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, which also plans to file a complaint with the FEC against Vindman.

“On its face, Mr. Tazelaar's services to the campaign go beyond those of a typical volunteer,” the Functional Government Initiative wrote in its complaint to the FEC. “In fact, the records show that Mr. Tazelaar appears to be effectively serving as press secretary for the Vindman campaign. Answering all future questions on any issue is the job of a press secretary or communications director. That is not a function typically performed by a volunteer.”

VoteVets likely made an “excessive donation” to Vindman because the outside group had already reached the donation limit for the 2024 primary and general elections, the regulator said in the complaint. The complaint was signed by regulator director Chris Stanley, the former head of the Census Bureau's Office of Congressional Affairs and a longtime Republican Senate staffer.

Levinson, Vindman's employee, insisted in a statement to the Washington Examiner that the Vindman campaign is serious.

“The bottom line is that we have worked with the coordinated side of the VoteVets organization to respond to the Free Beacon public relations,” Levinson said. “The FEC rules make clear that this interaction does not violate their rules and does not constitute a contribution in kind.”

Campaign finance expert Dan Backer said the Vindman campaign's logic was “flawed and ridiculous.”

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“If someone is providing PR services on behalf of the PAC or at the direction of the PAC, it is clearly a commercial service,” Backer, an attorney with the firm Chalmers, Adams, Backer and Kaufman, told the Washington Examiner. “Although this in-kind donation is legal, it is subject to certain contribution limits. This must be disclosed in both VoteVets and the campaign's reports.”

VoteVets did not respond to a request for comment.