To Preserve Our Democracy We Must End Foreign Meddling in U.S. Elections

Each day, we learn more about how foreign sources use our own campaign finance laws and social media opportunities to try to influence U.S. elections.We only have ourselves to blame if we don't demand accountability from candidates, political action committees and Congress. We must require them all to face up to this ugly truth. A core principle of American democracy, free and fair elections, is under attack. None of us can stay on the sidelines as bad actors attempt to tamper with the outcome of presidential elections and foment doubt about our democratic processes.Shining a public spotlight on these connections is the best way to unmask the threat. Ruth May, a business professor at the University of Dallas and an expert on the economies of Russia and Ukraine, wrote a compelling connect-the-dots commentary for this newspaper on this very point. After scouring publicly available campaign finance reports, she spotted troubling connections between wealthy donors with ties to Russia and their legal political contributions to President Donald Trump and a number of top Republican leaders.  Continue reading...