John, BREAKING: We’re taking the Federal Election Commission to court for failing to investigate coordination between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Last Friday, Free Speech For People and Campaign for Accountability filed a federal lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission (FEC), seeking declaratory and injunctive relief for the Commission’s deadlock and failure to investigate a five-year-old complaint regarding the Russian government’s political spending in the 2016 election and coordination with former President Trump’s campaign. We are challenging the FEC’s dismissal of the complaint as “contrary to law” under the Federal Election Campaign Act. In December 2016, Free Speech For People and Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the Russian Federation and the Trump campaign. The 2016 administrative complaint alleged that the Russian government paid for computer hacks, social media posts, and paid political advertisements to influence the 2016 election, and that the Trump campaign engaged in “coordination” with the Russian government. The FEC finally closed its file and released its records in late February 2022. The documents released by the FEC showed that the nonpartisan staff of the FEC’s Office of General Counsel identified reason to believe that both the Trump campaign and the Russian government had violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (“the Act”) by coordinating with the Russian government, and soliciting and receiving illegal in-kind donations from the Russian government. This misconduct included soliciting Russian assistance in hacking and disclosing emails associated with Trump’s political opponents. The documents also revealed that the 3-3 vote that blocked the FEC from proceeding in its investigation fell squarely along partisan lines. The FEC’s nonpartisan career staff in its General Counsel’s office agreed that in the 2016 election, the Trump campaign committed illegal coordination with the Russian government. The FEC’s shameful 3-3 deadlock missed an important opportunity to hold the Trump campaign accountable for its illegal coordination with the Russian government, and to deter Trump or other politicians from doing it again. As Commissioners Shana Broussard and Ellen Weintraub argued, “The Commission’s response to foreign threats should transcend partisan politics.” Our lawsuit seeks to hold the FEC—and, ultimately, the Trump campaign and its partner in the Russian government—accountable for this shameful episode in American history, and help prevent it from happening again in future elections. You can read our full lawsuit here. In solidarity,
Free Speech For People | 
