FEC Commissioner Weintraub Launches Partisan Hit on Partisan Network on the Eve of the Election

The Federal Elections Commission is supposed to be a non-partisan fair broker of American election laws. FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub bills herself as an “ethics/election lawyer” on her Twitter feed.

See if you think that what Weintraub did tonight is ethical.

Federal Elections Commissioner Ellen Weintraub appeared tonight on the post-partisan news network on cable to make a partisan pitch against a Supreme Court decision that President Barack Obama has publicly attacked in a partisan way.

Weintraub previewed her appearance on MSNBC in this tweet:

About to talk to @chrislhayes about the #darkmoney election and the #FEC on @allinwithchris on @msnbc. Tune in now! #inners

— Ellen L Weintraub (@EllenLWeintraub) November 4, 2014

Weintraub has been vocal in criticizing the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in the past, liberally deploying the term “dark money” to suggest that some types of monetary donations given by U.S. citizens to impact our politics “demean democracy.”

The FEC with Weintraub on board has shown zero interest in investigating the foreign money that the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns are known to have accepted, which is against campaign finance law.

But Weintraub used her appearance on MSNBC — on the eve of an election, no less — to pitch for the most partisan network’s viewers to head to the FEC website and comment on the decision that she had just attacked.

Comment on how the #FEC can improve disclosure, shine a light on #darkmoney, and prevent #corruption. http://t.co/5DdawXyZM2

— Ellen L Weintraub (@EllenLWeintraub) November 4, 2014

A tweeter who saw the segment wondered aloud if Weintraub would appear on any other networks to make the same pitch to viewers other than those who watch Chris Hayes on MSNBC.

.@EllenLWeintraub Ma’am will you be appearing on any other media requesting comment?Is it FEC’s position that anon donations must b stopped?

— Catherine (@museofhistory) November 4, 2014

By the way, Weintraub is married to William G. Dauster, who is one of Democrat Sen. Harry Reid’s chiefs of staff. If the Republicans take the Senate on Tuesday, Reid may not only lose his Senate majority leader post, but his party leadership post as well.

Here is video of Weintraub’s MSNBC segment. Weintraub’s call for MSNBC’s viewers to comment to the FEC comes at the end.