During the final stages of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate, Deputy White House Counsel Patrick Philbin, responding to a question from Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, about Trump seeking foreign dirt on political opponents triggered outrage when he said that “mere information is not something that would violate the campaign finance laws. … The idea that any information that happens to come from overseas is necessarily campaign interference is a mistake.”
Federal campaign finance law makes it unlawful for “a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make a contribution or donations of money or other thing of value … in connection with a Federal, State, or local election.” And “contribution” is “anything of value made … for the purpose of influencing any election.” Bob Bauer, former Obama White House counsel argues that this is “extremely broad.”
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