House intel chair Devin Nunes is under investigation for possibly violating campaign finance laws
- The Federal Election Commission is investigating Rep. Devin Nunes for alleged campaign finance violations.
- The FEC is accusing Nunes of taking more money from individual donors than is allowed under election law.
- It is unlikely that the investigation will impact his chances at re-election in his safely Republican California district.
Rep. Devin Nunes' 2018 campaign is under investigation by the Federal Election Commission for accepting several contributions that may have violated the law, the Daily Beast and The Hill reported on Wednesday.
Nunes, who has made waves as chair of the House Intelligence Committee investigating Russia's election interference, is running for re-election in California's 22nd district.
In a letter sent to his mother, who serves as his campaign treasurer, the FEC requested information about two donors who allegedly gave more money to his campaign than individuals are allowed to contribute in a single race.
Each of the donors made several payments to the campaign that totaled $3,000 for each individual - $300 higher than the maximum allowed donation total for individuals contributing to a campaign, according to the FEC letter.
The letter also shed light on a $10,000 donation to Nunes from Stone Land Company, a California farming corporation. This donation seems to have violated a law prohibiting corporations from donating to political campaigns directly without using "separate segregated funds" set aside by the company.
Although Nunes' campaign may face consequences for these alleged violations, such rebukes are not uncommon. In the past, campaigns that the FEC found received more money than allowed have often refunded their donors to escape paying fines.
Nunes has until April 24 to respond to the letter.
Last month, Nunes released a controversial memo detailing alleged misconduct at the FBI and Justice Department in the Russia investigation. Nunes' allegations plunged the committee into a partisan tailspin, with the Democrats on releasing a rebuttal memo. Intelligence experts have warned that the committee's infighting poses a credible threat to national security.
Despite the controversies, Nunes is likely to win reelection in November. He's running in a California district that has been deemed safely Republican for years.
Although his most formidable Democratic opponent, Andrew Janz, has been successful in mounting a serious campaign to unseat Nunes, even he is unlikely to beat him in this year's midterms, given that Nunes won over his last Democratic challenger by a whopping 35% of the vote in 2016.