Exclusive | Dem Rep. Eugene Vindmans campaign dropped nearly $39K at Florida bookstore where his bro held signing events for his bestseller
Rep.Eugene Vindman’s campaign shelled out $38,783 in what it labeled a “fundraising expense” last month at a Florida bookstore where his brother held signing events for his best-selling book criticizing Western policy toward Russia, financial disclosures reveal.Vindman’s twin brother, Alexander — a retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a key figure in President Trump’s first impeachment — bragged about signing hundreds of copies of his tome “The Folly of Realism” at Books & Books around the time of his brother’s mysterious campaign outlays.Books & Books has multiple stores around the Miami area, but an employee at the Coral Gables store confirmed to The Post Wednesday that Alexander Vindman had book signings at that location, which is where the campaign payments were directed.That individual also said that Eugene Vindman’s team had asked earlier in the day what the store would do if a reporter came around asking questions.Federal Election Commission records do not specify what the purported “fundraising expense” entailed, or whether those funds went to bulk purchases of Alexander Vindman’s book, which briefly cracked the New York Times “hardcover nonfiction” bestseller list for the week ending March 16.“The Folly of Realism” was released Feb.
25 from Hachette Book Group at an initial cost of $30.Ten days later, on March 7, the Eugene Vindman campaign made a $7,809.55 payment to Books & Books.
A second payment, for $30,972.97, was processed March 20.Over the past 15 years, there has been no FEC record of major political fundraisers at Books & Books, with only a few expenses for meals totaling no more than $54 listed by groups such as Emily’s List and former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré’s unsuccessful 2010 campaign for the US Senate.FEC records show that Books & Books was the only Florida-based company that received payments from Vindman’s campaign during the first quarter of 2025.On March 9, two days af...