Trump appointee throws wrench into investigations of alleged campaign finance crimes: report

FEC Commissioner Allen Dickerson, a Trump appointee, is pushing for a rule change that would make alleged campaign finance violations more difficult to investigate, The Intercept reported.

Dickerson's proposal would require the FEC’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) to first get approval from the commissioners for any investigation it might undertake.

Instead of just presenting the commissioners its initial findings in order to get the nod for an investigation, the proposed new rule would require the OGC "to submit a comprehensive investigation plan alongside their initial findings — and to return to the commissioners if they want to make any changes once the investigation is underway," The Intercept's report stated.

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If approved, the rule would result in the commissioners "micromanaging things," Common Cause vice president of policy and external affairs Stephen Spaulding told The Intercept.

“It will slow investigations down and ultimately leaves the law unenforced, if they’re tied up in having meetings about whether the nonpartisan attorneys in the Office of General Counsel can even bring in another witness," he said.

Read the full report at The Intercept.