Seth Moulton Said He Would Return ‘Any’ AIPAC Donations. He’s Kept Tens of Thousands of Dollars From the Pro-Israel Group

Moulton’s campaign has held onto more than $40,000 in AIPAC cash given to his campaign in 2024

Rep. Seth Moulton (D., Mass.), who is challenging Sen. Ed Markey in the Democratic primary, pledged in October to return “any AIPAC donations” to his campaign. But Moulton has held onto tens of thousands of dollars in AIPAC donations, refunding only around half of what the group has given him since 2024, a Washington Free Beacon analysis found.

Moulton’s campaign now says he will return only donations received in the 2026 campaign cycle, shifting the goalposts of his original statement and allowing him to pocket most of the donations he has taken in from the pro-Israel group.

In November, Moulton’s campaign returned $5,000 to AIPAC’s political action committee and $37,800 from 18 individuals who made donations through AIPAC, a practice known as earmarking, campaign disclosures show. But Moulton’s campaign has held onto more than $40,000 in AIPAC cash given to his campaign in 2024.

Moulton’s campaign filings show no record of refunds for a $5,000 contribution from AIPAC’s political arm on Aug. 29, 2024, and another $5,000 contribution on Oct. 16, 2024. And Moulton’s campaign has kept nearly 30 earmarked donations given in 2024, which total $31,300, according to a Free Beacon analysis.

Moulton, elected to the House in 2014, has made his disavowal of AIPAC a centerpiece of his campaign, a common theme for Democratic primary candidates seeking office in blue and purple states. Maine’s Graham Platner and Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed have disavowed AIPAC, while accusing the American government of enabling Israel to carry out “genocide” in its war against Hamas.

“I am returning AIPAC’s donations and refusing to accept any donations or support from them,” Moulton said in a statement a day after announcing his challenge against Markey, a three-time incumbent who won his race in 2020 by 33 points.

“A few hours ago, I announced that I would return any AIPAC donations to my campaign,” Moulton wrote in a fundraising email on Oct. 16.

Moulton did not provide specifics back in October about his refund strategy for the AIPAC money and gave no indication that he would return only some of the donations. Moulton’s campaign did not clarify the matter when the Free Beacon raised it in November.

Harvard Business School lecturer Jeff Bussgang, whom Moulton identified in an Oct. 15 email to supporters as the leader of his finance committee, did not respond to requests for comment.

Moulton may need all the cash he can get in his challenge against Markey. Markey, 79, has long disavowed AIPAC and is a staunch critic of Israel.

Harvard Kennedy School professor Matthew A. Baum told the Harvard Crimson after Moulton’s announcement that Israel was a “pretty clear disadvantage” for candidates in a Democratic primary. And since Markey has long eschewed support from AIPAC, “Moulton, presumably, is trying to neutralize that potential contrast.”

While Moulton fumes about AIPAC’s perceived ties to the Israeli government, he’s been mum about campaign donors who work for the government of Qatar, the Hamas-aligned Gulf monarchy.

Though Moulton now eschews AIPAC, he’s held onto donations from lobbyists for the Qatari government. The lobbying firm Nelson Mullins, which represents Qatar, has contributed $11,500 to Moulton’s campaigns. Lobbyists for the firm arranged a junket for Moulton and two other Democratic congressmen to Doha in 2020. Moulton had “informal” briefings with the lobbyists before the trip, the Free Beacon reported.