Trump files complaint against Labour for 'interfering in US elections'
4 Min Read
Donald Trump accuses the UK Labour Party of intervening in the US elections after its representatives volunteered for the Harris campaign.
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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump dances at a campaign rally at Greensboro Coliseum, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP)
Former President Donald Trump has filed a complaint against the UK's Labour Party under allegations of interfering with the US elections, due November, The Guardian reported.
The Trump campaign claimed that in the past few weeks, Labour recruited party members to support his opponent, Kamala Harris, in key battleground states in an effort to sway the election on November 5.
A letter sent by Trump's legal team to the Federal Election Commission in Washington referenced the American Revolution, saying that the Brits' tactics of "going door-to-door" in America back then yielded negative results.
"This past week marked the 243 anniversary of the surrender of British forces at the Battle of Yorktown, a military victory that ensured that the United States would be politically independent of Great Britian," it further read, while misspelling “Britain”.
Responding to the allegations, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that party officials who volunteered for Harris ahead of the US presidential elections were doing so “in their spare time” and not as representatives of Labour.
"The Labour party … volunteers, have gone over pretty much every election. They’re doing it in their spare time, they’re doing it as volunteers, they’re staying I think with other volunteers over there," he emphasized at the Commonwealth summit in Samoa, adding that this has been the case of every previous election.
The basis of the accusation
The letter requested an investigation into the alleged foreign intervention in the form of unlawful contributions from foreign nationals to the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, which were accepted by the Harris campaign.
It also cites a report from The Washington Post that alleges communication between Labour and the Harris campaign, as well as additional reports about meetings involving senior Labour staff and the Democratic campaign.
Among those mentioned in the letter are Matthew Doyle, the director of communications for Downing Street, and Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s chief of staff.
The complaint includes a now-deleted social media post by Sofia Patel, head of operations at Labour, who stated on LinkedIn last week that 100 current and former party staffers were going to the US to support Harris' campaign.
The letter discusses a "volunteer exemption" in US elections, which allows foreign nationals to volunteer, but specifies that they cannot be compensated, make expenditures, or direct or control campaign activities.
Trump's most influential supporters, such as far-right representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and X CEO Elon Musk, were quick to slam Patel's post as "illegal" and a "blatant interference" in the elections.
Meanwhile, Trump's campaign claimed that this was just another facet of the "failing Harris-Walz campaign," adding that "President Trump will return strength to the White House and put America, and our people, first. The Harris campaign’s acceptance and use of this illegal foreign assistance is just another feeble attempt in a long line of anti-American election interference."
Perfect timing
The request follows a petition organized by veteran Republican prosecutors urging the Department of Justice to look into Elon Musk's attempt to bribe voters to vote for Donald Trump.
Legal experts believe this may violate rules prohibiting incentives for voter registration.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has significantly increased his involvement in Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, marking a dramatic shift from his previous stance on politics.
As reported by Axios earlier, Musk, who once claimed he would refrain from making political donations, has now funnelled tens of millions into supporting Trump's re-election efforts.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro called on law enforcement to look into Musk's idea to offer $1 million per day to registered voters who sign a petition supporting free speech in crucial swing states until the presidential election.
Shapiro told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that it was "deeply concerning" how Musk was spending money in the race, "how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians."
He suggested law enforcement should "take a look" at the situation, adding he was no longer the attorney general of the state.
