(José Niño, Headline USA) Another Democrat is under fire for questionable campaign spending, this one involving Rep. Eugene Vindman,D-VA., and a hefty payment to a Florida bookstore, according to a bombshell report from the New York Post.
Recent financial disclosures show Rep. Vindman’s campaign spent $38,783 last month, labeling it a “fundraising expense,” at a Florida bookstore where his brother held events for his bestselling book criticizing Western policy toward Russia.
Alexander Vindman, Eugene’s twin and a retired Army lieutenant colonel known for his role in President Trump’s first impeachment, openly boasted about autographing hundreds of copies of his book, The Folly of Realism, at Books & Books. He did so during the same period his brother’s campaign made those unexplained expenditures.
A long practiced method of laundering money to Democrat politicians involves having labor unions buy thousands of their books which are then put in a warehouse and never read.
Here, another sleazy play involving the lovely Vindeman brothers. https://t.co/fvzh8GPbhi
— Scott C. Johnston (@SJohnston60) April 24, 2025
The timing of Rep. Vindman’s payment to Books & Books and his brother’s signings there raises the question: Did Rep. Vindman buy his brother’s books with campaign funds?
Although Books & Books has several locations around the Miami metropolitan area, an employee at the Coral Gables store confirmed that Alexander Vindman’s book signings took place there, which is where the campaign’s payments were directed. That employee also reportedly stated that Eugene Vindman’s team had inquired earlier that day about how the store would respond if a reporter showed up with questions.
Federal Election Commission records did not highlight what the fundraising expense actually covered, nor whether the funds were used for bulk purchases of Alexander Vindman’s book, which made a brief appearance on the New York Times’ ‘Hardcover Nonfiction’ bestseller list for the week ending March 16.”
The Folly of Realism was released on February 25 by Hachette Book Group at an initial price of $30. Ten days later, on March 7, Eugene Vindman’s campaign made a $7,809.55 payment to Books & Books, followed by a second payment of $30,972.97 on March 20, according to the New York Post.
Over the past 15 years, there has been no FEC record of notable political fundraisers at Books & Books, with only a few meal expenses totaling no more than $54.
Alexander Vindman delivered testimony during the first impeachment, detailing President Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Biden family.
FEC records indicate Books & Books was the only Florida-based company to receive payments from Vindman’s campaign in the first quarter of 2025. On March 9, two days after the $7,810 payment, Alexander Vindman posted a photo of himself signing multiple copies of the book.
Your books are signed and on the way! Thank you for ordering from the iconic Books and Books in Miami Florida! https://t.co/nfz7z5gstE pic.twitter.com/SX5EDmIpVT
— Alexander S. Vindman 🇺🇸 (@AVindman) March 9, 2025
On March 21, a day after the second payment, Eugene Vindman posted photos from a chili cookoff in Virginia. On April 12, Alexander Vindman announced he had signed 800 more copies at the Florida store.
Eugene Vindman narrowly won his seat in Virginia’s 7th District in the 2024 election when he defeated Derrick Anderson by a 51.2% to 48.5% margin. He campaigned on an anti-corruption platform and coasting off of his brother’s anti-Trump antics.
“Eugene Vindman’s hypocrisy is rich,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Maureen O’Toole reportedly said. “Vindman is in Congress to advance his own out of touch agenda and, apparently, bail out his family’s abysmal literary endeavors,” she continued. “Virginians will kick this lying loser to the curb next November.”
With questions swirling around the campaign’s spending and family ties, the Vindman brothers’ activities are likely to remain under close scrutiny as the election season heats up.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
