Source: US House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Media Contact 202-226-8467
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast led fellow members of the panel in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen raising serious concerns over the European Union’s role in ensuring fair elections as Poland approaches the second round of its presidential elections on June 1, 2025.
Chairman Mast and his fellow Republicans cite recent reports that a Polish NGO with ties to U.S. Democrat Party megadonor George Soros facilitated a social media campaign featuring $105,000 worth of allegedly illegal political ads promoting Civic Coalition candidate Rafal Trzaskowski and discrediting his rivals.
The new developments follow a monthslong refusal by Poland’s current government to release tens of millions of dollars in public campaign funds to the opposition Law and Justice party.
“Reports of foreign-funded political advertisements favoring Rafał Trzaskowski, the Civic Coalition (KO) candidate backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, that may have occurred in contravention of Polish law, combined with the Tusk government’s reported monthslong refusal to comply with court orders to release public funding to the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, suggest a deliberate effort to tilt the electoral playing field,” the lawmakers wrote. “These actions, occurring under the European Commission’s watch, expose a troubling double-standard in the EU’s approach to Poland’s rule of law, which demands your urgent attention.”
In addition to Chairman Mast, the letter was co-signed by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Keith Self (R-TX), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and Andy Harris (R-MD).
Read the full letter here and below.
Dear President von der Leyen:
We write to express profound alarm over reported developments in Poland that may undermine the integrity of its democratic processes, particularly as the country approaches the second round of its presidential election on June 1, 2025. Reports of foreign-funded political advertisements favoring Rafał Trzaskowski, the Civic Coalition (KO) candidate backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, that may have occurred in contravention of Polish law, combined with the Tusk government’s reported monthslong refusal to comply with court orders to release public funding to the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, suggest a deliberate effort to tilt the electoral playing field. These actions, occurring under the European Commission’s watch, expose a troubling double-standard in the EU’s approach to Poland’s rule of law, which demands your urgent attention.
On May 15, an investigation by a leading Polish publication reported that a Polish NGO, which received funding from organizations funded by U.S. Democratic Party megadonor George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, facilitated the production of social media advertisements promoting Trzaskowski and discrediting his rivals, PiS-backed Karol Nawrocki and Confederation-backed Sławomir Mentzen. Several sources also reported that Estratos Digital GmbH—a Vienna-based firm majority-owned by Higher Ground Labs, a U.S. fund operated by major Democratic Party operatives who helped run the U.S. presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris—was behind the approximately 420,000 PLN ($105,000 USD) in allegedly “illegal political ads” posted by the Polish NGO on Facebook since April 10, 2025 in support of Trzaskowski. Estratos is the same organization that reportedly played a key role backing the anti-Viktor Orban opposition in Hungary’s 2022 elections, allegedly “concealing campaign financing sources, raising additional red flags about their operations in Poland.”
Equally disturbing are reports of the Tusk government’s monthslong refusal to release tens of millions of dollars in public campaign funding that PiS is legally entitled to receive, defying a ruling by the Supervisory Chamber of Poland’s Supreme Court, a payment demand from Poland’s National Electoral Commission, and an opinion by Poland’s Ombudsman (Human Rights Commissioner) Marcin Wiące to release the money. Further, by withholding these funds, the Tusk administration appears to be attempting to cripple PiS’s ability to compete fairly in the presidential election and violating the rule of law.
The European Union, as a guarantor of democratic standards and human rights under the Treaty on European Union, has a responsibility to ensure that member states uphold the rule of law. Yet, despite the European Commission’s vocal criticism and decision to withhold over $150 billion from Poland for alleged rule of law violations under the previous PiS government, it has remained conspicuously silent despite clear evidence of rule of law violations under Tusk’s administration. In fact, in February 2024—after the Tusk government ousted and installed a new National Prosecutor without President Duda’s approval in reported violation of Polish law—the European Commission, under your direction, released $7.1 billion (€6.3 billion) of the funds it had been withholding from the PiS government despite the fact that the Tusk government had not yet implemented any of the “milestones” the EU had demanded the previous PiS government complete for their release. This selective enforcement—condemning and sanctioning PiS while ignoring Tusk’s actions—suggests a double standard that could undermine the EU’s credibility as a guardian of democratic principles.
These developments also raise critical questions about the integrity of Poland’s democratic institutions and the EU’s role in ensuring fair elections. To address these concerns, we respectfully request that your staff arrange a briefing to answer the following questions:
1. What entities provided the $105,000 (420,000 PLN) used for the Facebook advertisements promoting Rafał Trzaskowski, and did any of these funds originate from foreign sources in violation of Polish electoral law?
2. What role, if any, did Estratos Digital GmbH and its U.S.-based owner, Higher Ground Labs, play in coordinating or financing these advertisements, and to what extent were U.S. Democratic Party operatives directly involved?
3. How does the Commission justify its failure to address the Tusk government’s refusal to release millions of dollars in court-ordered funding to PiS, given its prior sanctions against the prior PiS government for rule-of-law violations?
4. Why has the Commission remained silent on Finance Minister Andrzej Domański’s defiance of Poland’s Supreme Court, National Electoral Commission, and Ombudsman rulings, given its previous vocal criticism and aggressive actions against the PiS government?
5. What oversight mechanisms, if any, has the Commission implemented to prevent foreign-funded NGOs, such as those linked to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, from influencing Poland’s 2025 presidential election?
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