Trump interview: Election commission issues warning after president admits he would take information on rivals from foreign powers

The head of America’s election commission has issued a stern warning about illegal interference in the electoral process, a day after the president said he would likely accept damaging information about a rival from a foreign nation.

Barely 24 hours after Donald Trump caused jaws to drop by saying he may not contact the FBI if approached by a foreign country with information that could help his 2020 reelection bid, the chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) said it was against the law to “solicit, accept or receive” anything of value from a foreign national in relation to an election.

Posting a statement on Twitter, a statement she said she “would not have thought I needed to say”, Ellen Weintraub apparently responded to Mr Trump, without naming him.

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“Let me make something 100 per cent clear to the American public and anyone running for public office,” she wrote.

“It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a US election.”

Shape Created with Sketch. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 22 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 1/22 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty 2/22 Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well EPA 3/22 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. Reuters 4/22 Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty 5/22 Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty 6/22 Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP 7/22 Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters 8/22 Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority Getty 9/22 Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News 10/22 Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty 11/22 Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty 12/22 John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP 13/22 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty 14/22 Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty 15/22 Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty 16/22 Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty 17/22 Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intends to make gun control central to his campaign Getty 18/22 Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house Getty 19/22 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty 20/22 Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change AFP/Getty 21/22 John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor Getty 22/22 Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working class roots Getty 1/22 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has announced that he will be running again in 2020 after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He intends to run on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty 2/22 Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well EPA 3/22 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. Reuters 4/22 Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but has struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty 5/22 Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty 6/22 Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He intends to run on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP 7/22 Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters 8/22 Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority Getty 9/22 Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News 10/22 Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty 11/22 Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty 12/22 John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP 13/22 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty 14/22 Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty 15/22 Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty 16/22 Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty 17/22 Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intends to make gun control central to his campaign Getty 18/22 Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house Getty 19/22 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty 20/22 Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid centres around climate change AFP/Getty 21/22 John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado is running on a sensible ticket. He aims to sell himself as an effective leader who is open to compromise and evidences this with his experience as governor Getty 22/22 Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan will be running a campaign that hinges on his working class roots Getty

Ms Weintraub, who was appointed to the commission by George W Bush in 2002 and elected its chair for 2019, said the distaste of foreign interference in elections was “not a novel concept” for the country.

“Our Founding Fathers sounded the alarm about ‘foreign interference, intrigue, and influence’,” she wrote.

“They knew that when foreign governments seek to influence American politics, it is always to advance their own interests, not America’s.”

In an interview with ABC News, part of which were broadcast on Wednesday, Mr Trump suggested he would accept dirt on an opponent offered by a foreign country.

“I think maybe you do both,” he said, asked if he would call the FBI or accept any material.

“I think you might want to listen, there isn’t anything wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country, Norway, [and said] ‘we have information on your opponent’ – oh, I think I’d want to hear it.”

When it was pointed out that FBI director Christopher Wray said last month in congressional testimony his organisation would want to hear about any foreign election meddling, the president dismissed it.

“The FBI director is wrong, because frankly it doesn’t happen like that in life,” Mr Trump said. “Now maybe it will start happening, maybe today you’d think differently.”

He said he had “seen a lot in his life” but that he had never called the FBI.

“In my whole life. You don’t call the FBI. You throw somebody out of your office, you do whatever you do,” he said. “Oh, give me a break – life doesn’t work that way.”

Mr Trump’s interview sparked widespread outcry, and more demands from Democrats that he be impeached, a move House speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far resisted.

On Thursday she told reporters Mr Trump’s comments represented “an ‘assault on our democracy”.