Politico: Lawmakers raise cash off Trump-Russia probe
Swalwell is one of the junior members of the House Intelligence Committee, which has long had an unspoken rule against engaging in partisan fundraising related to the panel’s secretive work.
But the panel’s high-profile Russia investigation is now putting that rule to the test, and experts are warning that some committee members’ recent appeals for campaign cash could undermine everyone’s credibility.
...
Lawrence Noble, an expert in campaign finance and ethics with the Campaign Legal Center, said it was inevitable the Russia investigations would become a fundraising tool — a fact he considers unfortunate.
“It undermines public faith in the investigation and makes it look more partisan,” Noble said. “It helps further politicize the issue, and that I think is not healthy because I'd like to think everybody would agree there are serious allegations of Russian involvement that need to be investigated.”