BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani criminally referred to DOJ over international, unlawful donations
Zohran Mamdani has been criminally referred to the Department of Justice by the campaign finance watchdog group, the Coolidge Reagan Foundation (CRF). The foundation filed two criminal referrals against the socialist candidate on Tuesday for allegedly taking illegal donations from foreign donors.
According to Fox News, after a review of Mamdani’s campaign finances, it was discovered he took $13,000 from 170 donors outside the US.
“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” campaign finance expert of the CRF, told Fox News Digital. “This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race which is a clear violation of both federal law and New York City campaign finance rules. Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it.”
The Mamdani campaign responded to the accusations, “31 of the 170 donors have proven their citizenship or legal permanent residence and have been deemed permissible by the Campaign Finance Board, and the remaining 139 have had their donations refunded.”
The CRF sent the criminal referral to Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division as well as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office on Tuesday.
“The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections, and that includes making contributions. Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad,” Backer added, and argued “whether through negligence or intent, this conduct undermines the integrity of the democratic process.”
The DOJ calls for an investigation into “potential FECA violations” and the Manhattan version cites “possible violations of New York Election Law § 17.152, which makes it a misdemeanor for two or more persons to conspire to promote an election by unlawful means.”
CRF Chairman Shaun McCutcheon said, “Every dollar illegally funneled into a campaign from abroad dilutes the voice of lawful American voters. This case must be investigated immediately, and those responsible held accountable.”