The controversial mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, who self-describes as a socialist, has been slammed with a criminal referral from the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, which alleges his campaign accepted over $12,000 in illegal foreign contributions from 161 donors in countries like Dubai, Australia, and Turkey between December 2024 and September 2025.
Bringing forth reams of data, CRF President Dan Backer condemned the “sustained pattern” as a blatant violation of federal and state laws, while explaining how the campaign had ignored warnings and continued to accept donations. Likewise, Chairman Shaun McCutcheon noted that this seemingly obvious campaign finance fraud represented a threat to self-government that dilutes American voters’ voices. Chiming back in, Backer urged immediate investigations by the DOJ and DA.
In any case, Dan Backer, a national campaign finance expert and president of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, slammed Zohran Mamdani. “These are not isolated incidents or clerical errors,” he
noted. Building on this point, Backer said, “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.”
Continuing his diatribe, Backer, who previously secured a 5-figure FEC fine against Bernie Sanders for hiring illegal aliens, kept hammering away at the woke activist. “The law is crystal clear that foreign nationals may not participate in American elections, and that includes making contributions,” he said.
Explaining the issue, Backer noted, “Yet Mamdani’s campaign repeatedly accepted donations from individuals abroad, some even tied to regions and individuals openly sympathetic to hostile actors. Whether through negligence or intent, this conduct undermines the integrity of the democratic process.”
Echoing these comments, Shaun McCutcheon, Chairman of the CRF, continued the criticism. “Foreign money in American elections is not just a technical violation, it is a threat to self-government,” he said. “Every dollar illegally funneled into a campaign from abroad dilutes the voice of lawful American voters. This case must be investigated immediately, and those responsible held accountable.”
Before the election was held, Curtis Sliwa, the Republican mayoral candidate, noted, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire so that I would be very concerned. It’s very problematic, not just for Zohran Mamdani, but anybody who has these kinds of PACs, because it’s a license to illegally funnel money.”
Upset by the double standard, one quick-witted conservative said, “Republicans are demanding an immediate investigation into NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani after it was revealed he took thousands of dollars in potentially ILLEGAL foreign donations. Imagine that. The Ugandan communist may not be playing by the rules.”
However, despite these serious allegations of misconduct, his campaign refused to take responsibility. “We will, of course, return any donations that are not in compliance with CFB law,” the campaign alleged, saying, “It’s the only campaign I’ve seen that’s not trying to win by convincing a group of people to hate another group of people.”
Watch Mamdani get heckled and chased out of a park by irate, conservative New Yorkers:
