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 after the $7,810 payment to Books & Books, Alexander Vindman posted a photo of himself signing scores of copies of “The Folly of Realism.”
On March 21, a day after the second payment of $30,973 was made, Eugene Vindman posted photos on social media showing him at a Chili cookoff in Caroline County, Va. the prior day.
On April 12, Alexander Vindman announced he had signed 800 more copies of his book at the Florida store.
The Post reached out to reps for both Vindman brothers for comment. The Post also contacted Books & Books management to inquire about whether a political fundraiser took place at the store.
Eugene Vindman narrowly won the race to represent Virginia’s 7th District on a message of fighting against corruption, touting his efforts to aid his twin brother against Trump.
“Eugene Vindman’s hypocrisy is rich,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Maureen O’Toole told The Post.
“Vindman is in Congress to advance his own out of touch agenda and, apparently, bail out his family’s abysmal literary endeavors,” she added. “Virginians will kick this lying loser to the curb next November.”
The Post previously reported that the now-congressman declined to answer questions last year about whether his taxpayer-funded trips to Ukraine played a role in his business ventures of trying to sell weapons to Kyiv.
Eugene Vindman had bragged to the Prince William Times in late 2023 about making 14 trips to the war-torn country, funded by the “Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group” State Department program.
During that timeframe, his company, Trident Support LLC worked to sell the Ukrainian government a weapons system. That company also used the same PO box as Vindman’s congressional campaign.
Vindman took in $125,000 from Trident in early 2024 despite reports that he did not earn a salary from the company, financial disclosures show.
