FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor cleared of ethics violation after Insider reporting spurred investigation

Republican FEC Commissioner James E. “Trey” Trainor III speaks at his confirmation hearing at the US Senate on March 10, 2020.

Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

• In 2022, Insider reported that FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor was billed as a member of the "Trump Elections Team" at a local GOP event.
•  Following the report, the FEC Office of the Inspector General opened up an investigation.
• The group did not find any ethics violations, though it said its investigation was hampered after Trainor and his counsel didn't cooperate.

The Federal Election Commission's Office of the Inspector General found on Monday that Commissioner Trey Trainor did not commit any ethics violations after he participated in an "election integrity" event where he was labeled as a member of the "Trump Elections Team."

In 2022, Insider reported that Trainor, who was previously appointed to the commission by President Donald Trump, was billed as a member of Trump's team in a Facebook post by the Denton County Republican Party.

Following the report, the FEC's Office of the Inspector General began an investigation into Trainor's perceived ethical impropriety. They that while it may appear he acted improperly, his billing was written without his knowledge, undermining "any appearance of impropriety."

While Trainor did speak to Insider in 2022 for comment, the FEC Office of the Inspector General's report notes that he and his counsel refused to cooperate with the government's investigation, leading to "uncertainty" regarding the investigation's final findings.

"Neither Commissioner Trainor nor his counsel responded to numerous attempts over the course of several months by the OIG to schedule an interview," the report said. "His lack of participation impeded the OIG's efforts to gather relevant evidence and resulted in uncertainty concerning the conclusions in this investigation."

The report from the FEC Office of the Inspector General notes that Trainor's lack of cooperation with the investigation ran counter to guidance from former FEC Chair and current Commissioner Allen Dickerson, who sent an email to all FEC staff in March 2022 to remind employees they "have a duty to cooperate with OIG."

Because of his and his attorney's failure to cooperate, the FEC Office of the Inspector General  ultimately said it "was unable to conclude with certainty whether Commissioner Trainor complied with the relevant ethical standards concerning participation in matters involving the Trump 2016 campaign and related entities due to his lack of participation in this investigation."

The FEC Office of the Inspector General closed the investigation with "no recommendations for the Commission or FEC management," though it did refer potential Hatch Act violations and "allegations of improper partisan political activity to the Office of Special Counsel."

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