Ellen Weintraub, who chairs the Federal Election Commission, claims that it would be illegal for President Trump to accept foreign intelligence on his opponents. Weintraub took to Twitter to say something she thought she’d never have to say:
I would not have thought that I needed to say this. pic.twitter.com/T743CsXq79
— Ellen L Weintraub (@EllenLWeintraub) June 13, 2019
Weintraub says that it is illegal for any person to solicit anything of value from a foreign nation if it is to be used in a U.S. election. If Trump were to receive information and use it, according to Weintraub, that might run afoul of the law. Weintraub warned that anyone caught using such information could end up “on the wrong end of a federal investigation.”
Weintraub also said that anyone who receives an offer for a prohibited donation should contact the FBI. In recent days, President Trump claimed that if he did receive foreign assistance, he might not contact the FBI and would instead make the decision on a case-by-case basis.
Weintraub also reminded that the Founding Fathers warned about foreign influence. European countries have a long history of interfering with each other’s politics. When the USA went independent, the Founding Fathers wanted to limit any foreign influence.
Senator Mitt Romney also weighed in on the issue, saying that no Presidential candidate should accept foreign help. Trump has noted, however, that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) hired a foreign individual to dig up dirt on him. However, that doesn’t constitute accepting help from a foreign government.
