Donald Trump’s campaign has accused the Labour Party and Kamala Harris of interfering with the election through a federal complaint. The former president’s team stated that they have formally approached the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which oversees election regulations, claiming Labour made “illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference in our elections.”
In a release detailing the complaint, Trump’s campaign described Labour as a “far-Left” organization that has “inspired Kamala’s dangerously liberal policies and rhetoric.” Susie Wiles, Trump’s campaign manager, stated, “The flailing Harris-Walz campaign is seeking foreign influence to boost its radical message – because they know they can’t win the American people.” She added, “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.”
This follows news that Labour Party staff coordinated a trip for nearly 100 activists last week to support Ms. Harris in several key battleground states. In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, they plan to focus on Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, all considered vital to Ms. Harris’s campaign. It’s reported that the activists are covering their own travel expenses.
The information was shared in a now-deleted LinkedIn post by Sofia Patel, head of Labour’s operations. Before filing their complaint with the FEC, Republicans characterized the plan as an “outrage” and warned it could harm the UK’s relationship with the US if Donald Trump were to regain the presidency.
On the British current affairs show Victoria Derbyshire, Richard Grenell, who served as the acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany under Trump, remarked, “We don’t want to have any foreign interference in our elections… so I think this is a pretty open and shut case: don’t interfere in the American elections and you won’t be sued.”
The FEC reviews complaints on an individual basis, where outcomes can range from a written warning to fines if a violation is determined. Previously, in July, the Trump campaign filed a complaint regarding funds raised for Joe Biden’s re-election effort being redirected to Ms. Harris’s campaign, but this complaint appears to be the first of its kind targeting a UK political party.
Historically, in the 1990s, Sir John Major issued an apology to Bill Clinton after the Home Office investigated whether the then-president had sought UK citizenship while at Oxford to avoid the Vietnam War draft, as reported by the Washington Post. Additionally, Sir Tony Blair faced accusations from British politicians for allegedly aiding George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004 by repositioning British troops closer to Baghdad amid rising pressures related to US casualties in Iraq.
In 2018, the Federal Election Commission penalized Bernie Sanders’s campaign with a fine of $14,500 after it found that the campaign had accepted an illegal contribution from the Australian Labor Party. Experts indicate that if the FEC acts on any of the complaints, any resolution is unlikely until after November 5.
Gary Lawkowski, a lawyer working with the Trump campaign, commented on the alleged Labour interference, stating, “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.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a GOP congresswoman and a prominent Trump supporter, asserted, “foreign nationals are not allowed to be involved in any way in US elections.” Tesla’s Elon Musk, who has backed Trump, emphasized, “This is illegal.”
In response, a Labour official remarked to Politico, “It says a lot about the current level of political discourse on both sides of the Atlantic that an innocuous LinkedIn post from a party staffer has turned into a diplomatic event.”
