Toronto Star: Canadian MPs ignore fundraising emails from Donald Trump
The Campaign Legal Centre, a voters’ rights advocacy group, was one of the groups that filed a complaint with the FEC.
The complainants allege the emails violate the Federal Election Campaign Act’s ban on soliciting election campaign funds from foreign nationals and are asking for an investigation.
“This is clear black-letter law that foreign nationals cannot contribute to U.S. elections and candidates cannot solicit foreign nationals for contributions,” said Brendan M. Fischer, a lawyer with the group.
The law guards against foreign influence in American election campaigns, Fischer said. He called the fact that the emails appear to have been sent to official government addresses a “clear red flag” the notes were going to foreign nationals.
If an investigation is launched and the campaign is found to be in violation of the law, it could face fines and a potential criminal investigation, Fischer said, but he doesn’t anticipate any public action will be taken before the November election.