Michael Vachon, a senior advisor to George Soros, has denied claims made by President Trump that the Open Society Foundations (OSF) are linked to illegal activities.
The letter, obtained by Newsmax, asserted that Trump’s allegations against the entity are “100 percent false.”
“The Trump Administration has repeatedly made false claims about OSF and George Soros. Allegations that George or OSF are in any way engaged in unlawful activity or in fomenting or promoting violence are 100 percent false,” Vachon wrote. He went on to declare that all of the Foundations’ activities are “peaceful and lawful.”
A similar statement was issued last week in response to the Trump administration’s investigation into the entity’s operations. “The Open Society Foundations unequivocally condemn terrorism and do not fund terrorism. Our activities are peaceful and lawful, and our grantees are expected to abide by human rights principles and comply with the law,” the statement read, claiming that the accusations are “politically motivated attacks on civil society, meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech.”
“Our work in the United States is dedicated to strengthening democracy and upholding constitutional freedoms. We stand by the work we do to improve lives in the United States and across the world,” the OSF added.
Trump told Fox & Friends earlier this month that his administration plans to investigate Soros for possible racketeering charges.
“We’re going to look into Soros,” Trump said, “because I think it’s a RICO case against him and other people. Because this is more than like protests. This is real agitation. This is riots on the street. And we’re going to look into it.”
He added that there are “professional agitators” that work for Soros-linked entities.
