FEC chair makes it '100 percent clear' candidates can't accept election help from a foreign power
In the wake of President Trump's admission that he would accept political dirt on his opponents offered by foreign governments, Federal Election Commission Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub tweeted a statement that she hopes gets through to all Americans.
"Let me make something 100 percent clear to the American public and anyone running for public office: It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election," Weintraub said. "This is not a novel concept. Electoral intervention from foreign governments has been considered unacceptable since the beginnings of our nation."
At the birth of this country, the Founding Fathers "sounded the alarm about 'foreign interference, intrigue, and influence,'" Weintraub continued. "They knew that when foreign governments seek to influence American politics, it is always to advance their own interests, not America's."
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Should a political campaign ever be approached by a foreign power and offered a "prohibited donation," they should immediately report the incident to the FBI, she said, and anyone who "solicits or accepts foreign assistance risks being on the wrong end of a federal investigation." Weintraub prefaced her tweet with the caption: "I would not have thought that I needed to say this."
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