An undercover video released Monday by O’Keefe Media Group alleges that overseas donors have funneled money into Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign, a claim his campaign firmly rejects. The video features a man identified as Abdoul Beckwith, described in the footage as a regional field organizer in Michigan, making the allegation to an undercover journalist posing alongside him.
What the Hidden Camera Captured
In the footage published by O’Keefe Media Group, which says it went undercover inside El-Sayed’s campaign, Beckwith claims that “he [Abdul El Sayed] has people from overseas that donate to him.” The undercover journalist in the exchange responds that money from overseas is not allowed, and Beckwith is shown agreeing that such donations are against the rules, according to the released video. The same video also includes a discussion of Hamas, in which Beckwith allegedly claims El-Sayed could lose support if he openly rejected the group. Separately, Beckwith allegedly says that El-Sayed denouncing the Muslim Brotherhood could lead people to think he sides with, as Beckwith put it, “genociders.”
As reported by Michigan News Source, O’Keefe Media Group identified Beckwith as a regional field organizer for Abdul for Senate. El-Sayed’s campaign, however, has pushed back hard on that characterization, saying Beckwith had never been employed by the Senate campaign at all. The same outlet reported that the Michigan Democratic Party had terminated Beckwith’s employment following the video’s release, though the circumstances of that move have not been independently confirmed.
Campaign Calls the Claims Untrue
Roxie Richner, communications director for Abdul for Senate, rejected Beckwith’s comments as untrue and misinformed, per the same outlet’s report, and said they were not reflective of the campaign. The campaign maintains it is fully compliant with Federal Election Commission regulations. Michigan Democrats, in a statement posted by O’Keefe, reportedly said Beckwith had no knowledge of the campaign’s internal operations and that his claims were false, adding that he was no longer employed with the coordinated campaign.
James O’Keefe, an independent investigative journalist, told the National News Desk that he considers Beckwith’s claims credible despite the denials, arguing that campaign officials typically try to minimize claims that do not reflect well on their operation. O’Keefe said that after the undercover footage was released, he confronted Beckwith on camera and asked why he had been working for the campaign if he was fired. O’Keefe said Beckwith lunged at him during that confrontation and was restrained, and that a police report was filed against Beckwith for assault, according to O’Keefe’s own account.
What Federal Law Actually Bars
Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from contributing directly or indirectly to U.S. political campaigns, according to the Federal Election Commission. But the FEC’s own guidance makes clear that an overseas address alone does not establish a contribution was illegal, since U.S. citizens living abroad may legally contribute to campaigns. Nothing in the available record confirms that any specific El-Sayed donor was a foreign national or that any contribution broke the law.
El-Sayed’s campaign reported raising just under $30.7 million in its third-quarter finance report, more than three times the amount raised by Republican opponent Mike Rogers in the same period. According to Bridge Michigan, about 28% of his itemized donations came from Michiganders, meaning most of the haul originated outside the state. More than a third of that total, roughly $11.2 million, came from donors who each gave less than $200 over the course of the election cycle, and nearly 55,000 small-dollar donors collectively contributed about $2.5 million. More than 800 contributors maxed out at the $3,500 general-election limit to his campaign or a related joint fundraising account, Bridge Michigan reported.
A photograph accompanying the original report showed El-Sayed speaking with Jemele Hill at the Detroit Public Theater on Monday, a public appearance that coincided with the undercover video’s release. The Senate race between El-Sayed and Rogers remains closely watched heading into the general election, with fundraising disclosures and campaign conduct both likely to draw continued scrutiny.
