Posted on Friday, October 31, 2025
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by Outside Contributor
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Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has come under scrutiny for accepting money from foreign donors.
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation, a campaign finance watchdog, referred the campaign to both the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, citing alleged violations of both the Federal Election Campaign Act and the New York Election Code.
Mamdani accepted more than $13,000 from at least 170 donors, all of whom maintain addresses outside of the United States, according to campaign finance records. To legally contribute to a political campaign, donors must either be U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents, which calls into question these specific contributions.
“These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” Dan Backer, president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, told Fox News. “This was a sustained pattern of foreign money flowing into a New York City mayoral race, which is a clear violation of both federal law and New York City campaign finance rules. Mamdani’s campaign was on notice for months that it was accepting illegal foreign contributions, and yet it did nothing meaningful to stop it.”
The Mamdani campaign claims that of the 170 foreign donors, 31 have proven their citizenship or permanent residency, and the rest have received refunds for their donations.
“The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections, and that includes making contributions,” Backer said. “Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad, some even tied to regions and individuals openly sympathetic to hostile actors.”
The Coolidge Reagan Foundation has previously filed complaints against New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and the Democratic National Committee.
In total, the Mamdani campaign has fundraised more than $16 million thus far, with the election less than a week away.
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the potential criminal charges against Mamdani, while Bragg’s office did not respond to National Review‘s request for comment by the time of publication.
Kamden Mulder is a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism. She is a graduate of Hillsdale College.
Reprinted with Permission from The National Review – By Kamden Mulder
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
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