June 14, 2019 - Washington—Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) yesterday released the following statement after President Trump said he would accept assistance from a foreign adversary in an election:

“President Trump’s comments that he would accept help from Russia or another foreign adversary to win reelection are outrageous.

“The law is very clear in this area. ‘It shall be unlawful for a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value … in connection with a federal, state or local election (52 USC 30121).’ Providing opposition research, as the president calls it, is a valuable contribution to a campaign.

“It’s comments like this that show why the bill I introduced last month, the Prevention of Foreign Interference with Elections Act, is so important and deserves a hearing and a vote.

“The bill makes crystal clear that working with foreign nationals to influence U.S. elections is an illegal act. It also closes loopholes that let foreign nationals buy online campaign ads in order to influence U.S. elections.

“We must not let foreign powers influence our elections. Our bill makes that clear and strengthens the law to ensure it won’t happen again.”

• Prevention of Foreign Interference with Elections Act – press release
• Prevention of Foreign Interference with Elections Act – bill text
  Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein