FOX First Report: Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., are demanding an explanation from Secretary of State Antony Blinken over a Ukrainian non-governmental organization (NGO) with ties to the State Department that released a list of Americans labeled “Trump supporters and communists” for opposing increased U.S. funding to Ukraine, FOX News Digital has learned exclusively.
“On June 6, 2024, Ukrainian company Texty.org.ua published an online article titled, 'Roller Coaster: From Trump Supporter to Communist. U.S. Power and Methods to Block Aid to Ukraine,'” the two Republican senators wrote in their letter to Blinken. “The article's title overstates the product. It is in effect a flimsy article, merely a pretext to smear the many Americans who were skeptical of aid to Ukraine in any way.”
“However, it is being broadcast as part of a coordinated media strategy that bears all the hallmarks of a targeted influence operation against the United States,” the lawmakers continued, identifying the names detailed in the article as an “enemy list.”
Vance and Gates, who are considered the leading contenders to be former President Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 presidential election, sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday requesting information, including grant agreements the State Department has with the NGO and its founder, Anatoly Bondarenko.
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Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, left, and Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, right, ask Secretary of State Antony Blinken for an explanation of the “enemies list” created by State Department-affiliated entities. (Photos by Getty Images, Stephanie Keith, Saul Loeb, and Johannes Simon)
Texty.org.ua published a list of 388 individuals and 76 organizations it described as “Trump supporters and communists” for openly opposing further funding for Ukraine as it continues to fight Russia. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Congress had approved a total of $175 billion in aid and military support for Ukraine by last month.
In their letter, the two lawmakers emphasized to Secretary Blinken that the list includes 116 members of the House of Representatives and 21 senators, all of whom are Republicans.
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“If this were merely a report in some foreign media outlet, such a slanderous article would be easily ignored,” the lawmakers wrote. But Bondarenko, founder of Texty.org.ua, said the article was “posted on a U.S. government website with the support of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) walks down the colonnade with President Biden to the Oval Office during a visit to the White House in Washington, DC, on September 21, 2023 (Photo by Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty Images)
The link provided by the lawmakers to the website of the Department of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ public diplomacy program, “TechCamp,” detailed that Bondarenko is one of the founders of Texty.org.ua, a news outlet that combines “classical and ‘digital’ journalism.”
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“He leads a team of seven people and is in charge of the newsroom's data journalism department, together with four others who work simultaneously as designers, programmers and journalists. The team works on projects on corruption, education, healthcare, news, urban environment and state procurement and specializes in telling stories using data visualization techniques. Anatoly holds a master's degree in engineering,” the US government website says about Bondarenko.
Rep. Matt Gaetz wears a Laken Riley pin badge at the Capitol in Washington, DC, ahead of the President's State of the Union address on March 7, 2024. (Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
An article on Texty.org.ua graphically lists the so-called “Trump supporters and communists,” categorizing the names, organizations and movements into three categories: political, media and professional. The list includes politicians such as Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Tim Scott and Governor Ron DeSantis, as well as groups such as “The Squad” and the MAGA movement.
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Former President Trump headlines the Republican National Committee's Spring Donor Retreat in Palm Beach, Florida on May 4, 2024. (Donald Trump 2024 Campaign)
“We identified a wide range of aid opponents, from Trump supporters to communists, and investigated their connections,” the article reads.
“Nothing could be more backward than the U.S. funding Ukraine's border patrol but not its own,” the conservatives argue.
“While our research does not encompass all prominent opponents of aid to Ukraine, it highlights prominent figures and common voices that often reflect Kremlin propaganda,” the report continues.
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 28: Congressman Jim Banks (R-Indiana) questions a witness during a hearing of the House Select Committee on United States-Communist China Strategic Competition, at the Cannon House Office Building, February 28, 2023, in Washington, DC. The committee is investigating economic, technological and security competition between the United States and China. (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)
Republican Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, who was named on Texty's “enemies” list, wrote a letter to Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday urging them to end U.S. support for Texty. The committee passed a resolution on Tuesday that effectively cut off funding to the NGO, and Banks clapped back at Fox Digital for his comments.
“The Russian regime has sanctioned me and designated me an 'opponent of Ukraine.' I don't care what a foreign country thinks of me. But it is shameful that our agency would use Indiana taxpayer money to collaborate with a foreign entity that seeks to intimidate American people and lawmakers. I want to thank Republicans on the Appropriations Committee for defunding the Data Journalism Agency's activities like this,” Banks said in comments Wednesday afternoon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Presidential Council for Science and Education via video conference in the Kremlin in Moscow, Thursday, February 8. Denmark has warned that Russia could attack NATO within the next three to five years. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via The Associated Press)
Vance and Gates asked Blinken to send them information by June 28 about “all releasable materials related to the State Department's support for Anatoly Bondarenko or Texty.org.” They also asked him to provide a list of State Department directives, master agreements, or other policies outlining the obligations of State Department grantees or subgrantees related to the publications listed above. They also asked him to provide a list of State Department grants or other awards made to Anatoly Bondarenko or Texty.org or Texty.org.ua. They also asked him to “inform us whether the State Department will open an investigation into violations of State Department policy in this matter.”
Then-President Trump, right, welcomes Republican J.D. Vance, then running for U.S. Senate in Ohio, to the stage during a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. (Photo by The Associated Press/Tom E. Puskar)
“Needless to say, whatever you think about U.S. foreign aid or support for Ukraine, all Americans can agree that our tax dollars should not be used to directly attack Americans based on reasonable political disagreements, especially U.S. lawmakers based solely on their votes,” they wrote.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment on the letter but did not immediately receive a response.