The O’Keefe Media Group released hidden-camera footage of a man identified as a campaign field organizer discussing alleged overseas contributions to Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, prompting a denial from the candidate’s campaign.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The O’Keefe Media Group released an undercover video Monday, Oct. 19, featuring a man identified as Abdul Beckwith discussing alleged foreign political contributions and internal campaign concerns involving Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
The footage includes statements suggesting that money originating overseas could reach American political campaigns through intermediaries, potentially violating federal election laws. El-Sayed’s campaign strongly disputed the allegations and denied that Beckwith had ever been employed by the Senate campaign.
In the recording, Beckwith, identified by OMG as a regional field organizer, told an undercover journalist that El-Sayed receives financial support from individuals overseas.
“You know, he [Abdul El Sayed] has people from overseas that donate to him,” Beckwith said.
When asked whether those contributions were permitted under federal election law, Beckwith acknowledged the prohibition before describing an arrangement in which money could pass through another individual.
“No, it is not allowed,” he said.
“And then people overseas give money to him. And then he gives money to you. It’s that type of thing.”
Beckwith subsequently added, “Everybody does it!”
Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from contributing directly or indirectly to American political campaigns. It also prohibits using another person’s identity to conceal the true source of political donations.
However, American citizens living abroad and lawful permanent residents may generally make campaign contributions. The location from which a donation originates does not, by itself, establish that the contribution is illegal.
The undercover footage released by OMG does not independently establish that prohibited donations entered El-Sayed’s campaign accounts or that the candidate knew of such transactions.
WATCH:
<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"> </span><br>
Beckwith also discussed the political consequences he believed El-Sayed could face if he publicly denounced Hamas or 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.
His comments followed public controversy surrounding allegations of family connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which El-Sayed has denied. During a recent Michigan campaign appearance, El-Sayed explicitly agreed to disavow the organization and criticized questions implying that his Muslim faith determined his political loyalties.
The recording also captured Beckwith expressing concerns about the candidate’s political advisers, making remarks about their racial and religious backgrounds.
“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 further 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 asked whether El-Sayed could abandon his campaign promises, Beckwith responded, “I think, yeah.”
Following the video’s release, El-Sayed’s campaign rejected Beckwith’s statements and disputed his alleged employment status.
“This junior staffer has never been employed by the Abdul for Senate campaign – his comments here are untrue, wildly misinformed, and not reflective of the campaign. The Abdul for Senate campaign is fully in compliance with FEC regulations,” a campaign communications director said.
The campaign’s response was subsequently circulated online.
The disputed allegations emerge two weeks before the Nov. 3 election, in which El-Sayed faces Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan’s U.S. Senate seat.
No independently verified campaign-finance records or official enforcement findings presented with the recording establish that El-Sayed knowingly accepted prohibited foreign contributions. The candidate’s campaign maintains that it complies with federal election law.
Original article
Comments