As liberal media outlets continue to claim that Trump Jr. violated campaign laws by 'seeking an in-kind contribution from a foreign national in the form of opposition research', the conservative group, Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust (FACT), is now turning that allegation on the DNC over its collusion with Ukrainian officials.
Somewhat ironically, as reports say that Paul Manafort's home was raided and numerous documents seized, The Hill reports, a watchdog group will file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday alleging that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) violated federal law by soliciting opposition research on the Trump campaign from a foreign government.
The conservative group Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust (FACT), launched in 2014 by former U.S. attorney Matthew Whitaker, will allege that political operative Alexandra Chalupa, in her capacity as a DNC consultant, improperly sought intelligence on President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, from Ukrainian officials.
“Federal law and Commission regulations prohibit any person from knowingly soliciting, accepting or receiving contributions or donations of money or other things of value from a foreign national,” the complaint reads.
FACT alleges that Chalupa violated the ban by “knowingly soliciting” a “valuable in-kind contribution in the form of opposition research and information on a Trump campaign official from a foreign national on behalf of the Democratic National Committee.”
The complaint is based on an investigation by Politico, which found that Chalupa “met with top officials in the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington in an effort to expose ties between Trump, top campaign aide Paul Manafort and Russia.”
Chalupa “developed a network of sources in Kiev and Washington, including investigative journalists, government officials and private intelligence operatives,” according to Politico, and “occasionally shared her findings with officials from the DNC.”
Chalupa was a minorities outreach coordinator at the DNC. Officials say she was freelancing and not representing the DNC in her efforts to gather information on Manafort.
“The White House has been pushing this narrative to distract from the Trump campaign’s willingness to work with a hostile foreign government to interfere in our election. No one is buying it,” Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the DNC, said in a statement.
Ironically, The Hill notes that the FACT complaint cites several reports from liberal media outlets, including ThinkProgress, in which experts claimed that Trump Jr. violated campaign laws by seeking an in-kind contribution from a foreign national in the form of opposition research.