Alexandria, VA – Today, Americans for Public Trust (APT) filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against Representative Eugene Vindman for illegally using campaign resources for personal gain. Rep. Vindman promoted his brother Alexander’s book using campaign dollars and email lists in violation of federal campaign finance law.
Click here to read the full complaint against Congressman Vindman.
“It is clearly illegal to use campaign resources for personal use, and that is just what Representative Vindman has done. Rep. Vindman misused campaign resources to help promote his brother’s book all the way to the New York Times bestseller list. The tens of thousands of campaign dollars spent to subsidize his brother’s spurious book should be immediately investigated by the FEC.” – Caitlin Sutherland, Executive Director, Americans for Public Trust.
Fast Facts:
- Federal election law prohibits money given to campaign committees from being used personally by the candidate or any other person. Additionally, the FEC has recognized that political committees’ mailings lists are assets that have value, and the use of campaign assets to promote a book is usually a “prohibited personal use.”
- On February 27, 2025, Representative Vindman used his campaign committee, Vindman for Congress, to send a fundraising email promoting his brother Alexander Vindman’s book, “The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine.”
- On March 7, 2025, Rep. Vindman sent another fundraising email promoting Alexander’s book. The bulk of this email’s copy was written by Alexander touting his book.
- Rep. Vindman’s April Quarterly Report disclosed that the campaign spent $30,972.97 and $7,809.55 for “Fundraising Expense[s]” at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida. The dates of those expenses line up closely with X posts about Alexander Vindman’s book signing events at Books & Books.
- There is reason to believe that the purchase of Alexander Vindman’s book by Vindman for Congress and subsequent email promotion of those books is a clear violation of federal election law.
