Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has filed a complaint with the election commission, accusing the UK’s Labour Party of making illegal foreign campaign contributions and interfering in the 2024 presidential elections after its volunteers allegedly traveled to the United States to help campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris.
The complaint, filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Oct. 21, cites media reports which is says show that “strategists linked to Britain’s Labour Party have been offering advice to Kamala Harris about how to earn back disaffected voters and run a winning campaign from the center-left.”
According to the reports—which The Epoch Times has not independently verified—various senior members of the Labour Party met with members of the Harris campaign in recent weeks. The Trump campaign described the visits as “strategic meetings.”
The complaint also cites a LinkedIn post from Sofia Patel, head of operations at the Labour Party, in which she states that “nearly 100” current and former Labour Party staff would be traveling to North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Virginia in the coming weeks.
Trump’s campaign states that Patel’s now-deleted LinkedIn post “supports a reasonable inference that the Labour Party will finance at least travel and facilitate room and board.”
In the post, Patel writes, “I have 10 spots available for anyone available to head to the battleground state of North Carolina—we will sort your housing.”
The Trump campaign says that, “the limited number of ‘spots’ supports a reasonable inference that the Labour Party is financially supporting this effort. After all, if individuals were being asked to volunteer on their own and sort out their own housing, there would be no reason to cap the number of remaining ‘spots.'”
According to the campaign, the 10 spot number also “suggests scarcity, which in turn suggests an expenditure of resources.”
The Labour Party says that it is commonplace for overseas volunteers to participate in U.S. election campaigning, and that that their party members do so at their own expense, in accordance with the laws and rules. The Harris-Walz has not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
UK Prime Minister Responds
Under federal law, foreign nationals are prohibited from “directly or indirectly” making “contributions, donations, expenditures (including independent expenditures) and disbursements … in connection with any federal, state, or local election.”
The term “foreign national” is described in the law as an individual who is not a citizen of the United States and does not have lawful permanent residence, or a foreign principal such as a “foreign government or political party.”
The complaint from Trump’s team notes that while the FEC allows foreign nationals to volunteer in U.S. elections under a “volunteer exemption,” such volunteers “may not be compensated, foreign nationals may not make expenditures, and they may not direct or control activities of U.S. campaigns.”
“Ms. Patel’s posts and press reporting surrounding the relationship between the Harris campaign and the Labour Party create a reasonable inference that the Labour Party has made, and the Harris campaign has accepted, illegal foreign national contributions,” the complaint states.
“To protect our democracy from illegal foreign influence, it is imperative that the Federal Election Commission open a MUR, find reason to believe, and investigate this matter immediately,” it concludes.
UK Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer responded to the complaint during a flight to Samoa—where he will be attending a Commonwealth summit—on Oct. 23, telling reporters that he does not anticipate the complaint will strain relations with Trump if he wins the election in November.
“They’re doing it in their spare time, they’re doing it as volunteers, they’re staying, I think, with other volunteers over there,” Starmer said.
Starmer also noted volunteers from the Labour Party had attended pretty much every U.S. election.
“That’s what they’ve done in previous elections, that’s what they’re doing in this election, and that’s really straightforward,” he added.
A Labour Party spokesperson has said it is “common practice” for campaigners “from around the world” to volunteer during US elections and Labour activists “do so at their own expense”.
The spokesperson said: “It is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in US elections.
“Where Labour activists take part, they do so at their own expense, in accordance with the laws and rules.”
Reuters and PA Media contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times