Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub issued a stern warning Thursday saying anyone who solicits or accepts foreign assistance in an election is breaking the law.

The statement by Ms. Weintraub, a Democratic appointee to the FEC, came after President Trump said this week that he would gladly listen to such offers and would decide whether to report them to the FBI afterward.

“It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election,” the FEC chair said.

She said that has been a precept of election policy since the country’s founding, saying the founders “sounded the alarm” about foreign influence.

She said those who do accept assistance risk “being on the wrong end of a federal investigation.”

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