Federal Elections Commission Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub appeared to rebuke President Trump after he said he would be willing listen to foreign governments promising information on his political opponents.
Weintraub issued a statement Thursday night attempting to clarify federal law relating to political campaigns and foreign influence.
“I would not have thought that I needed to say this,” she said in a tweet with her statement.
“Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office: It is illegal for anyone to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election,” Weintraub said.
“Anyone who solicits or accepts foreign assistance risks being on the wrong end of a federal investigation,” she continued. “Any campaign that receives an offer of a prohibited donation from a foreign source should report that offer to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
I would not have thought that I needed to say this. pic.twitter.com/T743CsXq79
— Ellen L Weintraub (@EllenLWeintraub) June 13, 2019
Weintraub issued the statement after ABC News aired a clip of an interview between host George Stephanopoulos and Trump. The president said he would not necessarily call the FBI if a foreign government contacted him with opposition research.
“I think you might want to listen. There’s nothing wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country — Norway — ‘We have information on your opponent.’ Oh, I think I would want to hear it,” Trump said.
“You don’t call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office,” Trump said.
