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FEC chair claims GOP commissioner blocked memo about foreign election interference

FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub
Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Wientraub (L). Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Wientraub took to Twitter on Friday night to share a memo about prohibited electoral activity by foreign nationals that she says a Republican commissioner blocked from being published in a public weekly digest.

Why it matters: Weintraub's decision to share the memo about foreign involvement in U.S. elections comes as a whistleblower alleges President Trump tried to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate his 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. The complaint was referred by the director of national intelligence for investigation as a possible campaign finance violation, but was dismissed by the Justice Department. Its claims about Trump and Ukraine are now at the heart of an impeachment inquiry.

What she's saying: Weintraub published her memo as a Twitter thread, with 57 posts in total.

  • Weintraub tweeted: "GOP FEC Commissioner Caroline Hunter took the altogether unprecedented step of objecting to its being added to the Digest and blocked publication of the whole."
  • The memo focuses on the illegality of foreign nationals donating to American elections and defines various key terms used in the statute, such as "contribution," "anything of value" and "solicit."

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