The agency, already investigating a Trump complaint, is called on to consider reports that Russian agents bought Facebook ads.
A member of the Federal Election Commission is calling on the agency to investigate whether Russian agents paid for Facebook ads to spread damaging stories about Hillary Clinton ahead of last fall’s presidential election.
“I think there is potential there for finding a violation, but I don’t want to suggest that I have prejudged anything that could potentially come before me,” said FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, a Democratic appointee to the commission.
Her assertion comes as agency staff is already moving to investigate a related complaint filed in December by a pair of watchdog groups against President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, according to two sources familiar with the agency’s handling of the complaint. They said that, if the investigation proceeds apace, agency staff could be expected to incorporate the recent revelations about Facebook ads into their fact-finding.
The prospect of an escalating inquiry from the quasi-independent election watchdog agency could represent an intriguing new front in the battalion of investigations being pursued by various parts of the federal government. The FBI and various congressional committees are looking into Russia’s meddling in the election and the connections between the country and Trump’s associates.
The bipartisan FEC is generally better known for gridlock than speedy or aggressive investigations. Yet there are some signs that it might make an exception when it comes to foreign spending in U.S. elections.
The commissioners in October unanimously agreed to prioritize investigations into complaints about foreign spending. And in some ways, the FEC’s inquiry into Trump and Russia could offer greater transparency, accountability and focus than the congressional or law enforcement investigations.
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If Russian $ paid to boost anti-Hillary posts or place ads on @facebook, that could violate federal election laws. https://t.co/uCgh7Hrw40
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) May 23, 2017
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