Retired Army Col. Yevegny “Eugene” Vindman, the Democrat nominee for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, was confirmed on Thursday to be the recipient of a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint over an alleged improper contribution from a political organization that supports his candidacy.
Vindman’s twin brother Alexander overheard the phone call between former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that led to the first attempt to impeach Trump. Vindman reportedly took his brother’s information about the call and reported it to White House lawyers.
The Washington Examiner published a Wednesday FEC complaint filed against Vindman’s campaign on Thursday. The complaint reveals that the candidate is accused of receiving improper campaign contributions from VoteVets, an independent political committee that the outlet reported has spent more than $400,000 to support Vindman.
The Function Government Initiative (FGI) filed the complaint, which says it “is dedicated to improving the American public’s awareness about the officials, decisions, and priorities of their government.”
According to its complaint, The Washington Free Beacon’s Monday report alerted FGI to a possible violation of federal law.
In the report, FGI notes the outlet “reported contacting the Vindman Campaign regarding allegations that Mr. Vindman engaged in stolen valor by exaggerating his record of military service, including falsely claiming to have ‘served our nation in combat.'”
The outlet noted Vindman has claimed he “served our nation in combat,” but The Daily Mail reported in 2019 that Vindman “has not seen combat.”
Vindman’s campaign referred the outlet to VoteVets political director Travis Tazelaar, and stated that Tazelaar would handle “[a]ll future questions.”
In response, the outlet reported Tazelaar stated, “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.”
The complaint by FGI alleges this interaction “raises an obvious concern that VoteVets is effectively serving as a staffing service for Vindman for Congress by paying staffers to perform core campaign functions.”
FGI additionally wrote, “It also raises credible concerns that purportedly ‘independent’ expenditures by VoteVets in support of Mr. Vindman are really coordinated with Vindman for Congress.”
In its analysis, the group said Tazelaar received more than $120,000 from VoteVets during the 2024 campaign and that some of this was labeled an in-kind contribution to the Vindman campaign.
“VoteVets has already reached its contribution limit to the Vindman Campaign for both the 2024 primary and general elections,” FGI wrote. “Thus, any in-kind provision of personal services is necessarily an excessive contribution.”
Virginia’s 7th Congressional District is open after Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) announced she will run for governor in 2025 rather than another term in the House this year.
Vindman’s Republican opponent, Derrick Anderson, has promised to address rising prices and illegal immigration if elected.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Eugene Vindman” by Eugene Vindman.
