It's not all that easy to shock a jaded long-time political observer like me, but I must admit, even I was a bit stunned at the gall of the British Labour Party group who took it upon themselves to round up volunteers and descend upon the Colonies to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in battleground states. Teri Christoph brought us that story last Thursday.
In case you're wondering what the specific goal was for Labour to send an electioneering squad to the United States, Patel was quite clear about those goals in a post from two months ago:
I’m planning a trip for Labour Party staff to help our friends across the pond elect their first female President (second time lucky!).
If you worked for the Labour Party during the General Election, have now left, but are interested, please drop me an email on my work email address.
I will be going for the final two weeks of the election and spending a few days after in DC.
Let’s show the Democrats how to win elections! 🌹
It's important to note that these posts were made to her LinkedIn account, meaning she was posting in her professional role as operations director, not as a private citizen.
As Teri noted at the time, it's not entirely clear the move is illegal, but it's awfully close to the line.
Now, the Trump-Vance campaign has decided not to leave it to chance. On Tuesday, they filed a complaint for "illegal foreign campaign contributions" and "interference in our elections" with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).
🚨 BREAKING: Donald Trump has filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against 'far-left' Labour helping the Kamala Harris campaign for ‘illegal foreign campaign contributions’ and ‘interference in our elections’
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) October 22, 2024
[@e_casalicchio] pic.twitter.com/gRRz8R5Wpa
The announcement from the campaign reads:
The British Are Coming! Trump-Vance Campaign Fights Kamala’s Foreign Election Interference Scheme
When representatives of the British government previously sought to go door-to-door in America, it did not end well for them…
The Trump-Vance Campaign has filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against the Harris-Walz Campaign and the Labour Party of the United Kingdom for illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference in our elections.
Trump-Vance Campaign Co-Manager Susie Wiles stated: “In two weeks, Americans will once again reject the oppression of big government that we rejected in 1776. The flailing Harris-Walz campaign is seeking foreign influence to boost its radical message – because they know they can’t win the American people. President Trump will return strength to the White House and put America, and our people, first. The Harris campaign’s acceptance and use of this illegal foreign assistance is just another feeble attempt in a long line of anti-American election interference.”
The far-left Labour Party has inspired Kamala’s dangerously liberal policies and rhetoric. In recent weeks, they have recruited and sent party members to campaign for Kamala in critical battleground states, attempting to influence our election.
President Trump’s message of freedom, prosperity, and America First is resonating with the American people, because that’s what our Founders intended.
The full complaint, filed by the Dhillon Law Group, may be viewed here, but I'll excerpt the introduction and conclusion for emphasis:
When representatives of the British government previously sought to go door-to-door in America, it did not end well for them. This past week marked the 243 anniversary of the surrender of British forces at the Battle of Yorktown, a military victory that ensured that the United States would be politically independent of Great Britian. It appears that the Labour Party and the Harris for President campaign have forgotten the message.
I write on behalf of Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc. to request an immediate investigation into blatant foreign interference in the 2024 Presidential Election in the form of apparent illegal foreign national contributions made by the Labour Party of the United Kingdom and accepted by Harris for President, the principal campaign committee of Vice President Kamala Harris.
...
Those searching for foreign interference in our elections need to look no further than Ms. Patel’s LinkedIn post. The interference is occurring in plain sight.
Ms. Patel’s posts and press reporting surrounding the relationship between the Harris campaign and the Labour Party create a reasonable inference that the Labour Party has made, and the Harris campaign has accepted, illegal foreign national contributions.
To protect our democracy from illegal foreign influence, it is imperative that the Federal Election Commission open a MUR, find reason to believe, and investigate this matter immediately.
(MUR stands for "Matters Under Review.")
Whether and to what extent the FEC will find a violation, of course, remains to be seen. Still, the pushback by the Red Hats on the Redcoats here seems appropriate.
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