[Washington Examiner] A new proposal by an anti-Trump Democrat on the Federal Election Commission would expand the federal government's probe into alleged Russian influence to foreign companies and internet sites that take political ads, like Facebook or the Drudge Report, while giving the FEC an unprecedented role that some say oversteps its authority.Democratic Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, citing petitions from leftist groups demanding a wider investigation, on Thursday plans to push for commission support for her idea.
"This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for our democracy," she wrote in a hasty bid to get the commission to consider it at their Thursday meeting.
"The mere allegation that foreign interference may have occurred shakes the faith of Americans in our democracy. The FEC must find out the facts of what happened during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and move swiftly and firmly to fix any problems we find. Only then can we begin to restore the American people's resilient but battered faith that our federal elections belong to us -- and now some foreign power," she added.