Hungary's New Leader Reveals Viktor Orban Was Paying CPAC

[TommyT139]

Source: The New Republic

Peter Magyar called the payments a "crime" and said his government would stop the funds.

Turns out the Hungarian government has been bankrolling the Conservative Political Action Conference for years.

Peter Magyar, who unseated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban Sunday in a landslide, told reporters Monday that the outbound leader had diverted Hungarian taxpayer funds toward financing the American Republican conference.

Magyar noted that his government will be investigating Orban's expenditures, and will no longer finance CPAC or other right-wing institutions abroad.

Read more: https://newrepublic.com/post/209035/hungary-prime-minister-victor-orban-paying-cpac

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No paywall: https://archive.ph/rwNXz
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Edited to fix subject line, because in the copying & pasting, my device omitted the "a"-with-accent from Orban's name, as spelled in the New Republic headline.
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Edited again because DU wasn't recognizing the "a"-with-accent either. Peter Magyar's name has a similar issue.

[Turbineguy]

1. Oh dear......

Maybe they can claw the money back.

[KPN]

13. From the Republican Party.

[70sEraVet]

29. Fat chance of THAT!

Claw it out of Orban's ass!

[ShazzieB]

66. Yeah, that's not going to happen, lol.

But what excellent news this is, that CPAC is losing what sounds like a major funding source!

[Trueblue1968]

68. Make CPAC repay Hungary !!! Are those payments legal??

[blue-wave]

37. Much of Orban's political slush fund

comes from Russian oil. It comes from the Kremlin. Just sayin. Hillary was/is spot on!!

[Hey Joe]

2. That explains JV Dance boosting his reelection

campaign.
CPAC is just a financing arm for fascism.

[Karasu]

20. Always has been, always will be.

[Diraven]

25. I wonder what his cut was

Since outright bribery is legal now.

[AloeVera]

3. Tip of the iceberg.

The corruption yet to be uncovered will be staggering!

[AllaN01Bear]

15. ding. this.

[FarPoint]

47. For some reason.....

i always thought it was illegal to receive foreign monies for political reasons....but then I'm not so great at following limits and since laws since Citizen United.

[OldBaldy1701E]

49. And, far more pervasive that we want to believe. (n/t)

[BattleRow]

56. Was Orban in Epstein's orbit?

[AloeVera]

57. Not that I know of.

It was likely quid pro quo, not blackmail. I guess we can't rule anything out though.

[BattleRow]

59. Yep,like goulash and gumbo

Last edited Wed Apr 15, 2026, 12:27 PM - Edit history (1)

..Ya never know just what ingredients may or may not be cooking "in the stew."..or who the chef in the kitchen may just be.

[radical noodle]

4. So that's why some of them were so chummy with Orban

Keep him in power and let the $$$$ roll in.

[Ponietz]

5. We MUST have a progressive candidate in 2028 who'll use the long arm of the law to nail these fuckers

A right-leaning Democrat with deep AIPAC connections will “look forward and move on.”

[KPN]

16. Absolutely. For me, that's a "litmus test".

[wolfie001]

33. The ghost of Merrick Garland will forever wander the halls of the DOJ

[pat_k]

46. It's up to us to make sure that doesn't happen.

It's all the "looking forward, not back," that paved the road to our current hell.

[Blue Owl]

6. Based on CPAC'd dying audience and Orban's massive loss....

The Xtian Nationalist movement is dying a slow, painful death!

[travelingthrulife]

54. Praise the Lord!

[debsy]

7. And the American taxpayer financed their trips to Hungary!

[Buddyzbuddy]

8. Another means of exposure for the Republicans.

Clear example of foreign influence on the Republican policy makers. And once again Citizens United rears it's ugly head.

[Diraven]

26. It's still illegal

For foreign governments to contribute to US political parties. Even with Citizens United.

[Buddyzbuddy]

44. And yet the PACs exist, and the money finds it's way into politicians pockets.

Last edited Wed Apr 15, 2026, 03:04 PM - Edit history (1)

Russia
Saudi Arabia
Israel
Hungary
Qatar

Nobody is enforcing the laws on the books. That is the reality.

[Aussie105]

9. Bribery and corruption in high places?

Who would have thought?

It explains a lot.

[moniss]

10. What a Schlapp in the face!! nt

[oasis]

11. A crook bankrolling crooks. Whodathunkit?

His pal, J.D. Vance needs to let the public know what he thinks about that.

[AloeVera]

22. And did he even ONCE thank them for their generosity?

Hmmm???

[FakeNoose]

12. CPAC had their annual meeting over there in Hungary last year, or the year before

Doesn't surprise me at all to hear that Orban was filling up their coffers. Probably Putin is too, if he has anything left.

[Emrys]

39. Yes. In all the quotes from Magyar I've seen, he was referring to Orban funding CPAC Hungary, NOT the US version. n/t

[LeftInTX]

65. Oh.......That's different....

[Akakoji]

14. This has go be so hugely public!

Sue them out of existence. Liars! Blasphemers!

[calimary]

17. Well well well.

How ‘bout them apples!

[NBachers]

18. Geez, This looks like what they always said about George Soros, except Fascist and true.

There’s way more of this skullduggery to come out, be sure.

And, once again, everything they accused us of was projection of their own crimes.

[Karasu]

21. Soros would have to be a secret quadrillionaire in order to be responsible for everything they've ever accused him of.

[Diraven]

27. Soros is an American citizen

It's totally legal for him to contribute to US political campaigns. It is definitely not legal for foreign governments.

[Karasu]

28. 100% correct. All the more reason the 30 years of GOP conspiracies around him are fucking stupid.

Many of those conspiracies, of course, suggest that he is actually not a citizen. So much of everything goes back to “da illegals” for these people.

[ShazzieB]

67. And don't forget Soros is Jewish.

Which means that blaming him for stuff is a white supremacist dog whistle for those who buy into that ancient and ridiculous conspiracy theory that Jews are secretly plottinging to take over the entire world. Barf!

[thought crime]

42. And 30 years younger...

[underpants]

32. Every accusation is a confession

[BigmanPigman]

19. Does a bear poop in the woods?!?

[BaronChocula]

23. Hungary should set an example

Prosecute ASAP.

[flying_wahini]

24. Well Hell Orbon WAS the keynote speaker in Dallas

For them a couple of years ago.

[louis-t]

30. Holy Crap!!

[hibbing]

31. Almost like a vast right wing conspiracy nt

[JHB]

34. Unsurprisingly, the same sort of people who spent the last 100 years...

Last edited Tue Apr 14, 2026, 10:37 PM - Edit history (1)

...railing against "international communist conspiracy" have themselves formed an international fascist conspiracy.

[sakabatou]

35. No wonder the repukes were kissing his ass

[turbinetree]

36. Well how about that ..............now lets look at trumps bank statements since old Victor went to Mar A Lago.......

and basically gave the traitor the playbook to take down a democracy............with help from what's his name in Russia...............

[Martin68]

38. Nice. When it comes to MAGAts money talks and decency walks.

[Crowman2009]

40. That is one expensive/elaborate way to have a Grindr hookup.

[Botany]

41. So Putin was giving Orban money so as to pay for those clowns @ CPAC in order to weaken America?

Nice. Kind of like installing Trump as POTUS to weaken America too.

[yardwork]

61. Yes. All Orban's money comes from Putin, so...

[Botany]

62. I have an old friend who I dearly love who repeats the made up story that Orban and the right wing pushed ...

…. and still pushes that Men (mostly white) are under some kind of attack and our rights are
being taken away by some kind of conspiracy. Putin feeding some of his oil money to the
right wing anti LGBT dictator friendly Orban crowd in Hungry that they pass on to CPAC is part
of Russia’s war on Western Democracies. Tucker Carlson and others push “the White Men are
under attack” meme too.

[yardwork]

63. That fear is understandable on several levels.

If we look at the U.S. as a nation built on the mythology of white Christian men hewing a civilization from the God-given wilderness, the fears of the right wing make sense.

The country's culture is built around the idea of male white supremacy. Non-whites are viewed as inferior, whose proper roles are to serve white people. Women are viewed as inferior, whose proper roles are to serve men. Children are viewed as the property of their fathers.

Every advance in civil and human rights since the Civil War has chipped away at that false mythology. If Black people aren't slaves, does that mean they're equal to white people?! If women can vote, hold paying jobs, have their own bank accounts, and support themselves does that mean they're equal to men?! If people can live openly as the spouses of people of the same sex, does that mean that gender roles aren't immutable?! If schools can teach about these things how will parents pass on the mythology to their children?! Etc.

Every advance is a blow to the myth.

[Botany]

64. Much of America was built on racism, genocide, brutality, slavery, and some really fucked up kind of

…. Christianity that told followers that God made black, brown, and native peoples less worthy
by not looking like Northern European folk and that real Christians shouldn’t do certain things
too. This is why Ben Franklin left New England for Philadelphia because he couldn’t stand the
Puritans.

[Initech]

43. Bannon got busted! He needs to be dragged before the Hague!

[cayugafalls]

45. At this point EVERY single Rethug is a traitor to the US. They are Russian assets and need to be jailed.

Jailed tried and executed for treason against the United States.

I'm done dancing around it.

[perdita9]

48. It's bad enough that Hungary offered the money...

...but truly shocking that the Republicans accepted it.

It was a misuse of taxpayer funds originating from a fascist regime.

I'm so old I remember when the Republican party had honesty and integrity.

[Botany]

50. This not a one and done thing. Russian money this time was washed through Hungry and its dictator

…. Orban and fed into American right wing political or media operations in order to spread
lies, propaganda, and social unrest over @ what many times are not really problems such as
the threat from Transgender people, the dangers of the COVID vaccine, and that men in America
are under attack. In 2016 and 2018 the NRA got tens of millions of dollars to fund Republican
Senate races.

Trump knows he will get some extra sugar from Vlad Putin now that Russia is selling its oil @
higher prices.

Russia funding the nutballs @ CPAC is designed to weaken America. I have often wondered
what are the links between Russia and News Corp. aka Fox News?

[Doodley]

51. Do we actually have any journalist or an opposition? Trump and JD helping Orban should have been a major scandal.

Even if no money is involved, if properly highlighted, it should ring alarm bells to every voter in America, because Orban represents everything that isn't supposed to be an American value, but I bet you only about 1 in 10 people even noticed.

[Botany]

53. J.D. Vance and Trump told Orban either to his face (Vance) or by phone (Trump) that they loved him.

“I love Hungary, and I love Viktor. I’m telling you he’s a fantastic man,” Mr. Trump said by phone from Washington, his words blasted around a Budapest concert arena, “I’m a big fan of Viktor. I’m with him all the way.”

Btw after Trump’s endorsement Orban wound up getting crushed in the election.

You are 100% right Vance and Trump’s love for a right wing dictator and all that Russian money
going to America’s right wing and the Republican Party should have been bigger news.

[Kid Berwyn]

52. Hope NYT finds room for this story.

Wasn’t it illegal for foreign nations to provide money to political candidates?

[Scalded Nun]

55. Why be surprised about this. It is the GOP mantra

Spread hate/misinformation and have someone else pay for it.

[republianmushroom]

58. How much RUSSIAN money has been give to CPAC ?

[maliaSmith]

60. After midterms, time for Congress to go after GOP party

U.S. law explicitly prohibits foreign nationals, governments, and entities from making contributions, donations, or expenditures in connection with federal, state, or local elections, as outlined in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). Additionally, the prohibition extends to soliciting, accepting, or receiving anything of value from foreign sources in relation to U.S. elections, as enforced by the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission (FEC). These laws aim to prevent foreign interference and ensure that American elections remain a reflection of the will of U.S. citizens.

GOP party needs to be charged with breaking election laws.