Tag: campaign finance

Hackers Force FEC Offline A Week Before Midterms, Blocking Last-Minute Campaign Spending Reports

Federal Election Commission systems were targeted by an attempted breach just one week prior to the November 3 midterms, and the agency had to temporarily shut down its online electronic filing system.

According to the FEC’s Status Page, the Federal Election Commission first took down its online system for filing election finance reports at 10 p.m. ET on Monday. A FEC official handling online filings for the agency later that night told several campaign compliance firms, “We have a bad actor attempting to breach FEC systems. As a result, we’ve had to temporarily shut down our web-facing services.”

The shutdown blocks filing of the 24 hour and 48 hour reports that political groups use to disclose spending on individual races in the days leading up to an election. By 8pm ET on Tuesday, FEC officials said they had identified the problem and were working to correct it but in the meantime, online filing of reports remained unavailable.

FEC Deputy Press Officer Myles Martin told Newsweek that FEC staff were working to bring back the system as soon as possible and that search for existing reports would function as normal. Reports already filed remain available on the Commission’s website. The agency has not said who is behind the attempt or whether any breach actually succeeded. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency both directed questions on the matter to the FEC.

That would be bad timing. In the last week alone, Super PACs and “dark money” groups spent an average of more than $50 million per day according to data compiled by the research director of OpenSecrets, Brendan Glavin. Spending reported on October 20 alone topped $250 million. “These are the key reports that tell us what is happening,” said Glavin.

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AOC’s ‘Tax the Rich’ Campaign Spent About $47K on 45 Luxury Hotel Stays

Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s re-election campaign has spent roughly $47,000 on 45 hotel stays nationwide since April, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The spending, reviewed by the New York Post, includes multiple charges at properties rated luxury, upscale, or upper-upscale while the far-left congresswoman continues to attack wealth and “the oligarchy.”

The largest bill was $5,044 at The Memphian, a boutique hotel in Memphis that features spa services and an animal-themed rooftop bar.

The campaign also paid $2,694 and $1,599 at The Candler Hotel in Atlanta, a four-star historic property with an acclaimed restaurant, and $2,274 at The Talbott in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. Rooms at these hotels typically run from roughly $130 to $600 per night depending on the property and date.

Additional charges include $530.46 at the Thompson Central Park hotel in Manhattan, where rooms can reach $1,852 a night, and $318 at the Hyatt Seville NoMad.

The campaign also splurged for luxury transportation, including more than $1,400 to the chauffeur service BlackLane and hundreds more to other car services.

Despite her “Eat the Rich” persona, Ocasio-Cortez clearly enjoys the perks of wealth.

In 2025, AOC’s campaign spent approximately $53,500 on luxury and boutique hotels, including thousands at properties in Puerto Rico around the time she attended a Bad Bunny concert and posted about gentrification on the island.

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Watch Elizabeth Warren SQUIRM When Questioned About Billionaires Funding the Democrats in the Midterms

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was recently grilled – on CNN of all places – about the fact that despite all of the Democrat Party’s complaints about billionaires, they are being funded for the midterms by quite a few of them.

The whole billionaire thing on the left is so tiresome. It all goes back to Bernie Sanders. He used to be the only one who talked about it but now they all do.

Of course, they all conveniently look the other way when a billionaire is ready to hand them a massive campaign donation.

It’s still hard to believe this conversation happened on CNN.

FOX News reports:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., got defensive in a new interview as she railed against billionaire donations in politics and was asked about Democrat Troy Jackson revealing multiple billionaire donors, as well as a large possible donation from Michael Bloomberg.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins said during an interview with Warren that Bloomberg had given about $80 million to help Democrats win the midterms after noting that Elon Musk had contributed $276 million to Republicans.

Collins asked Warren, “You’re someone who has said billionaire donors should not be in politics. Given what you’ve said, do you want Michael Bloomberg’s help here?”

“Look, what I want is to get this kind of money out of politics,” Warren said. “Right now, the Republicans know that their only chance, as they see it, to be able to hang on to the House and the Senate and some of these governors’ mansions is to be able to just drown people in money, to be able to run all the ads on TV, to lie, to cheat, and that there won’t be any opportunity for Democrats to be able to respond.”

“We need to push back because, this campaign, this 2026 midterm, really is about the money or the people. Because the Democrats have got the people on their side. The Republicans have got the money, and they think if they can spend it, they can maintain control of this country, and I sure hope they’re wrong,” Warren said, arguing for a “very different” system.

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NYT: Billionaire Michael Bloomberg Dumps $80M to Help Democrats Snag House

Billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hefted $80 million in a final push to help Democrats score big in the 2026 midterm elections.

Bloomberg’s massive cash dump is specifically aimed at helping Democrats regain majority control of the House of  Representatives, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing Bloomberg’s team. Democrats taking control of the House would massively kneecap President Donald Trump’s agenda for the rest of his second term and likely involve a third impeachment effort.

Bloomberg is “of the view that resources matter in campaigns,” said Howard Wolfson, his political adviser. Wolfson added that the billionaire “expects a result.”

Bloomberg is now among the top five largest individual Democrat donors, CNBC reported, citing FEC filings. His funding push comes as many Democrat candidates berate the power and influence of billionaires in the United States.

Before the $80 million cash swell, Bloomberg had donated at least $23 million to Democrats and affiliated causes this election season, according to the report.

“As of the beginning of October, Bloomberg had put $11 million behind a super PAC supporting Micah Lasher in New York’s 12th Congressional District and $2.5 million toward Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s reelection, according to campaign-finance records,” CNBC reported.

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Abdul El-Sayed Campaign Official Reveals El-Sayed Knowingly Receives Illegal Donations from Overseas

The O’Keefe Media Group on Monday released an undercover video of a campaign official for Michigan Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed admitting that El-Sayed knowingly receives illegal donations from overseas.

Foreign nationals are prohibited from making campaign contributions.

“You know, he [Abdul El Sayed] has people from overseas that donate to him,” Abdul Beckwith, Regional Field Organizer for Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign, said.

When asked whether overseas donations were prohibited, Beckwith responded, “No, it is not allowed,” before describing a hypothetical arrangement in which overseas money passes through a family member.

Beckwith said, “And then people overseas give money to him. And then he gives money to you. It’s that type of thing.”

He then added, “Everybody does it!”

Beckwith also told the OMG undercover journalist that Abdul El-Sayed could lose support if he publicly denounces Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood, a designated terrorist organization.

El-Sayed’s sister has publicly claimed that their family has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“So that’s the whole thing. So when Abdul is going to denounce that [Muslim Brotherhood], they’re [Muslims] going to think that he is siding with the genociders,” Beckwith said.

Beckwith also said he is concerned that El-Sayed is surrounded by too many whites and Jews and may adopt their mannerisms.

“There’s a lot of white people around [El-Sayed]. A lot of Jewish people around him. And when you’re around a certain group of people for so long, you absorb the ideology, the mannerisms, everything like that,” he said.

Beckwith warned, “[Whites and Jews] are going to hijack him and then in a year he’s going to be doing what they want with him.”

When the OMG journalist asked whether El-Sayed might abandon his promises, Beckwith responded, “I think, yeah.”

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Epstein-Linked Billionaire Reid Hoffman Drops $500K on Kentucky Democrat Zach Dembo

LinkedIn co-founder and Democrat megadonor Reid Hoffman, the same billionaire who visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, stayed at his Manhattan townhouse, and once sent the convicted pedophile ice cream “for the girls,” just poured $500,000 into a super PAC backing Kentucky Democrat Zach Dembo.

The cash went to Kentuckians Not Corruption on September 24, according to WEKU’s October 16 investigation into Federal Election Commission records.

The group is running heavy television ads supporting Dembo and attacking his Republican opponent, former state Sen. Ralph Alvarado, in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.

Advertising records show the PAC’s weekly TV buys on Lexington’s WLEX-TV exploded after the money arrived, jumping from roughly $14,650 in mid-September to nearly $110,000 the week of October 6. By mid-October the group had already spent about $1.6 million on the race.

“This is really, it’s dirty Epstein class money fueling Zach Dembo’s campaign. It’s offensive,” Alvaro told Fox News.

He added that Hoffman “was one of his best friends,” citing the island visits, townhouse stays, and the infamous Christmas Eve ice cream shipment with the note that it was “either for yourself or for the girls.”

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Guilfoyle Donor Scandal Explodes As Vance Balks, Rubio Dodges And The Donor Calls It Quid Pro Quo

The left finally has something new to sink its teeth into, as the Kimberly Guilfoyle donor scandal widens – with JD Vance keeping his distance, a donor on a media tour, and a records demand sitting on the ambassador’s desk.

The allegation, reported by the WSJ late Wednesday – is that six days before her July 9, 2025, Senate confirmation hearing, Guilfoyle texted Trump donor Eric Deters on Signal and asked him to wire $100,000 to her American Express account in a way that would not leave a paper trail, while he was seeking her help getting the new administration’s attention on personal tax and legal problems. She promised, he says, to be his “Trump ride or die, forever and ever.” He did not pay. Her lawyer, Jesse Binnall, disputes that the messages are authentic and says any earlier money was for speaking fees. Deters says he owed her nothing.

Since Wednesday, the people who could shut it down have not. Vice President JD Vance, asked about selling access to a high-level official, said “obviously, I don’t love that,” then said he did not know the details.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with Guilfoyle standing at the foot of his plane in Athens, refused to discuss it: “Guys, I’m not playing this game with you.” Deters went on MS NOW, CNN, TMZ and NewsNation and called the ask “absolutely a quid pro quo.” House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) asked her for financial records and two years of communications, deadline Oct. 22. President Donald Trump has not commented. Guilfoyle’s only public post was about a speech.

What the texts say

According to messages the Journal said it reviewed, Guilfoyle wrote Deters, a former Kentucky congressional candidate, on July 3, 2025: “It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express.” She attached a PDF of American Express payment instructions. In a follow-up: “Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,” with a prayer-hands emoji. She told him she needed the balance paid down before the hearing. Background checks routinely look at a nominee’s debts.

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DOJ Hits Gallego’s PAC with Grand Jury Subpoena in Slush Fund Probe

The Justice Department subpoenaed Sen. Ruben Gallego’s (D-AZ) leadership PAC as part of a federal criminal investigation into the Arizona Democrat’s use of campaign cash to fund a luxurious lifestyle, according to a copy of the subpoena obtained by POLITICO.

The grand jury subpoena went out Aug. 21 to Gallego’s Juntos PAC, POLITICO reported Saturday. Its existence had not been reported before. It sought records tied to “activities on or about” Sept. 9, 2025. It also demanded the statements Gallego gave the Senate Ethics Committee during its own misuse-of-funds probe, the one the panel dismissed in June.

A spokesman for the senator said the PAC turned over everything it was asked for.

“The leadership PAC has complied with and responded to the Trump DOJ subpoena because it has nothing to hide,” spokesman Jacques Petit told the outlet. Petit did not say whether Gallego himself, his family, or any of his staff had also been subpoenaed.

The subpoena states that it relates to an “ongoing criminal investigation” and that the records will be handed to a grand jury. Its deadline was Sept. 4.

The probe grew out of reporting on how the senator spent donor money. POLITICO documented a string of family trips to Disneyland, Disney World, Miami, and Chicago. It also found more than $18,000 in childcare reimbursements since 2019, including $400 that went to his mother-in-law. One source put it bluntly, calling the account his “personal slush fund.”

The record also pulls in disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). The two established a joint committee in October 2022, the “Swallego Victory Fund,” and used it the following year to buy Super Bowl LVII tickets in Glendale, Arizona. CBS News reported the fund burned through more than $37,000 on tickets and meals before being terminated, sending roughly $7,600 to each of their campaigns.

The California Democrat left Congress in April, abandoning a run for governor as multiple women came forward with misconduct accusations. He has denied the allegations.

The subpoena builds on earlier reporting. Breitbart News noted in June that federal prosecutors moved in a day after the Ethics Committee wrapped its inquiry, a sequence the senator’s office dismissed as “politically motivated.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) filed the complaint that prompted the Senate ethics inquiry.

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Talarico to Fundraise with Wall Street Financiers, Jeweler Who Called America a ‘Sh*thole’

Texas Democrat U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico is scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraiser in New York City on Monday alongside former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), with Wall Street financiers, Hollywood figures, and a jewelry designer and filmmaker who has publicly criticized the United States and its flag among those involved in the event.

The September 28 fundraiser, hosted by actor Robert De Niro and other prominent Democrat donors, is scheduled to take place at an undisclosed location in downtown Manhattan, with top tickets costing $27,000. Actress Gina Gershon is also expected to attend.

The event comes as Talarico promotes his campaign as a “people powered” movement to “take back Texas,” despite receiving a majority of his campaign contributions from outside the state.

According to figures reported by the Texas Tribune in July, more than 55 percent of Talarico’s contributions came from out-of-state donors, while approximately 44 percent came from Texas. By comparison, Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton received 82 percent of his contributions from Texas and 18 percent from outside the state.

The New York fundraiser’s host committee includes Charles Alaimo, a Democrat megadonor and managing director at Group One Trading; Cedomir Crnkovic, a former managing director at investment firm D. E. Shaw & Co. and current board member of Inclusive Abundance; and Charles Myers, founder and chairman of Signum Global Advisors and a former adviser to Hillary Clinton.

Other participants include Jane Rosenthal, cofounder of the Tribeca Film Festival, who has lived in a $40 million condominium on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and Bill Derrough, a corporate banker at Jefferies.

Also listed on the host committee is Alexis Bittar, a jewelry designer and filmmaker who has publicly supported several progressive Democrat candidates and criticized the United States and its flag.

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Abdul El-Sayed Benefiting From $15 Million Via ‘Epstein Class’ Donors

Michigan Muslim Socialist Abdulrahman El-Sayed promises in his campaign to get money out of politics and campaigns with far-left surrogates like Rep. Ro Khanna railing against the “Epstein class.” But he is secretly benefitting from over $15 million from those associated with the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

After meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in Washington last week, his Senate Majority PAC (SMP) invested an extra $10 million into Michigan’s Senate race, bringing the group’s total investment to $30 million boosting El-Sayed.

SMP has been funded by the same “Epstein class” billionaires that Democrats like El-Sayed say they want to get out of politics. In total, $15,150,000 of SMP donations are linked to Epstein-associated individuals, which now go towards electing candidates like El-Sayed in November.

Those donors include:

Vinod Khosla

  • A February 8, 2011 email from Boris Nikolic to Epstein listed Khosla as a great dinner invitee according to a document in the Department of Justice’s online repository.
  • Later, Khosla helped Nikolic receive office space. Epstein advised Nikolic through the arrangement, saying “take your office at Khosla… it will come together.” Epstein later advised to “find what infrastructure of khosal you can use… find a place where you can have someone over for dinner.” (Department of Justice, 6/14/14 ; Department of Justice, 5/31/14 ; Department of Justice, 6/5/14)

Jon Stryker

  • In 2014, an Epstein associate suggested that he copy Jon Stryker’s playbook to bury his negative press post-conviction.

In addition, George Soros’ Democracy PAC and Michael Bloomberg’s American Opportunity Action, have both contributed to SMP:

George Soros

  • A 2007 article preserved in the DOJ production lists Soros and Epstein among people involved in a group seeking to establish a $10 million endowment led by Henry Jarecki.
  • In an FBI victim statement, George Soros was implicated for being on a yacht with Jeffrey Epstein, in which he witnessed the victim being sodomized and raped, in a heavily drug induced state, with the bottoms of his feet being slashed.

Michael Bloomberg

  • Reporting based on the 2026 DOJ release found that Epstein and Maxwell had contact with Bloomberg’s assistants, invited him to events, and appeared on invitations with him.

Monday is also the day of a major Hollywood fundraiser for El-Sayed at the home of Jeffrey Soros, the nephew of George, with co-hosts including Pod Save America hosts Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, and Hamas fanboy Ben Rhodes, according to an invitation.

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