FEC Rules in Favor of DNC Operative in Ukraine Collusion InvestigationAll three Republicans on the Federal Election Commission in April ruled in favor of a Democratic National Committee contractor accused of colluding with the Ukrainian government to hurt the Trump campaign, according to documents released Wednesday.
Ellen Weintraub, the Democratic chairwoman of the FEC, joined the three Republicans on the commission in voting to clear Ukrainian-American activist Alexandra Chalupa of violating campaign finance laws during the 2016 presidential campaign. A conservative watchdog group in 2017 accused Chalupa of colluding with the Ukrainian embassy to conduct opposition research on Trump campaign official Paul Manafort.
Republican FEC commissioners accused their Democratic counterparts of trying to keep the April ruling from going public. Weintraub broke with the Republicans by voting to keep the case file from being released. Evidence obtained in the investigation could open the Democratic Party up to charges of hypocrisy because of its contacts with Ukrainian officials. The decision could also undercut the position of FEC Democrats, who have accused the Trump campaign of accepting illegal donations from foreigners.
"The ruling hurts the Democrat position on all the cases against Trump. It hurts [Weintraub's] position to say that the DNC asking the Ukrainians for something is not a thing of value," said James Trainor, a Republican FEC commissioner.
"It's full-on Trump derangement syndrome at the Commission," Trainor told the Washington Free Beacon.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust accused Chalupa in August 2017 of working with the Ukrainian embassy to conduct opposition research on the Trump campaign and Manafort, who had been an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych. The allegation was based on a Jan. 11, 2017, Politico report that Chalupa solicited help from Ukrainian officials. Chalupa acknowledged that she researched Manafort but denied receiving information from the Ukrainian government.
But emails uncovered in the investigation show that DNC officials did seek contact with the Ukrainian embassy..................
https://freebeacon.com/national-security/fec-rules-in-favor-of-dnc-operative-in-ukraine-collusion-investigation/
