SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Stormy Daniels signs copies of her book Full Disclosure on October 8, 2018 at the Museum of Sex in New York City.
(Photo: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)
DOJ Called to Go After Trump for Stormy Daniels' Hush Money After 'Outrageous' FEC Decision
The Justice Department, said Common Cause, must "make clear that no one is above the law."
May 07, 2021
GOP federal regulators on Thursday blocked the continuation of a probe into whether former President Donald Trump violated campaign finance law when his personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election--sparking calls for action by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Two Republicans on the Federal Election Commission, Trey Trainor and Sean Cooksey, concluded (pdf) that pursuing the case "was not the best use of agency resources." Although Democratic FEC Chair Shana Broussard and Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, disagreed, continuing the investigation required four supportive votes. A third GOP commissioner recused himself and an Independent commissioner was absent.
"Now it's up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hold Trump accountable and make clear that no one is above the law," said Paul S. Ryan, vice president for policy and litigation at the pro-democracy group Common Cause, in a statement. "The clock is ticking; a five-year statute of limitations for Trump's campaign finance crimes gives the DOJ only five more months to prosecute these crimes."
On January 22, 2018, Common Cause filed complaints with the DOJ and FEC alleging that the payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was an unreported and illegal in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign. Following public statements from Cohen, the group amended its complaints that March.
"The FEC's nonpartisan career staff attorneys recommended that the commission find reason to believe that Trump, his campaign committee, and the Trump Organization committed the violations alleged in Common Cause's complaints," Ryan noted. He charged that the GOP commissioners' decision to not hold the ex-president accountable for "blatantly and intentionally" violating federal campaign finance law "is just the latest display of dysfunction at the FEC."
"The Senate must pass the For the People Act, which includes provisions to significantly restructure the agency so it can do its job for the American people and enforce the law, in addition to including many tried and tested solutions to hold power accountable and make democracy work for everyone," he said, referencing a bill of popular pro-democracy reforms the House passed in March.
While Trump welcomed the FEC's decision in what he described as a "phony case," Ryan was far from alone in denouncing it.
"To end corrupt partisan decisions by the FEC on enforcement of campaign laws, we need the reforms in the For the People Act," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), lead sponsor of the upper chamber's version of the bill, declared Friday.
"There is ample evidence in the record to support the finding that Trump and the committee knew of, and nonetheless accepted, the illegal contributions at issue here," Broussard and Weintraub said in a statement Thursday.
"To conclude that a payment, made 13 days before Election Day to hush up a suddenly newsworthy 10-year-old story, was not campaign-related, without so much as conducting an investigation, defies reality," the pair said. "But putting that aside, Cohen testified under oath that he made the payment for the principal purpose of influencing the election. This more than satisfies the commission's 'reason to believe' standard to authorize an investigation."
Cohen--who served time in prison after being convicted of campaign finance violations, lying to Congress, making false statements, and tax evasion--admitted to making hush-money payments during the 2016 campaign to Daniels and another woman who say they had affairs with Trump, which the former president denies. In 2019, Cohen submitted to Congress a copy of a check Trump wrote from his personal bank account that the former fixer claimed was a reimbursement for paying off Daniels.
"The hush-money payment was done at the direction of and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump," Cohen said in a statement to the New York Times after the commission dropped the case. "Like me, Trump should have been found guilty. How the FEC committee could rule any other way is confounding."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
jan 6 insurrectionus department of justicestormy danielscommon causefederal election commissionfectrumpismelection 2016donald trumpmichael cohen
GOP federal regulators on Thursday blocked the continuation of a probe into whether former President Donald Trump violated campaign finance law when his personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election--sparking calls for action by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Two Republicans on the Federal Election Commission, Trey Trainor and Sean Cooksey, concluded (pdf) that pursuing the case "was not the best use of agency resources." Although Democratic FEC Chair Shana Broussard and Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, disagreed, continuing the investigation required four supportive votes. A third GOP commissioner recused himself and an Independent commissioner was absent.
"Now it's up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hold Trump accountable and make clear that no one is above the law," said Paul S. Ryan, vice president for policy and litigation at the pro-democracy group Common Cause, in a statement. "The clock is ticking; a five-year statute of limitations for Trump's campaign finance crimes gives the DOJ only five more months to prosecute these crimes."
On January 22, 2018, Common Cause filed complaints with the DOJ and FEC alleging that the payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was an unreported and illegal in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign. Following public statements from Cohen, the group amended its complaints that March.
"The FEC's nonpartisan career staff attorneys recommended that the commission find reason to believe that Trump, his campaign committee, and the Trump Organization committed the violations alleged in Common Cause's complaints," Ryan noted. He charged that the GOP commissioners' decision to not hold the ex-president accountable for "blatantly and intentionally" violating federal campaign finance law "is just the latest display of dysfunction at the FEC."
"The Senate must pass the For the People Act, which includes provisions to significantly restructure the agency so it can do its job for the American people and enforce the law, in addition to including many tried and tested solutions to hold power accountable and make democracy work for everyone," he said, referencing a bill of popular pro-democracy reforms the House passed in March.
While Trump welcomed the FEC's decision in what he described as a "phony case," Ryan was far from alone in denouncing it.
"To end corrupt partisan decisions by the FEC on enforcement of campaign laws, we need the reforms in the For the People Act," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), lead sponsor of the upper chamber's version of the bill, declared Friday.
"There is ample evidence in the record to support the finding that Trump and the committee knew of, and nonetheless accepted, the illegal contributions at issue here," Broussard and Weintraub said in a statement Thursday.
"To conclude that a payment, made 13 days before Election Day to hush up a suddenly newsworthy 10-year-old story, was not campaign-related, without so much as conducting an investigation, defies reality," the pair said. "But putting that aside, Cohen testified under oath that he made the payment for the principal purpose of influencing the election. This more than satisfies the commission's 'reason to believe' standard to authorize an investigation."
Cohen--who served time in prison after being convicted of campaign finance violations, lying to Congress, making false statements, and tax evasion--admitted to making hush-money payments during the 2016 campaign to Daniels and another woman who say they had affairs with Trump, which the former president denies. In 2019, Cohen submitted to Congress a copy of a check Trump wrote from his personal bank account that the former fixer claimed was a reimbursement for paying off Daniels.
"The hush-money payment was done at the direction of and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump," Cohen said in a statement to the New York Times after the commission dropped the case. "Like me, Trump should have been found guilty. How the FEC committee could rule any other way is confounding."
GOP federal regulators on Thursday blocked the continuation of a probe into whether former President Donald Trump violated campaign finance law when his personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election--sparking calls for action by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Two Republicans on the Federal Election Commission, Trey Trainor and Sean Cooksey, concluded (pdf) that pursuing the case "was not the best use of agency resources." Although Democratic FEC Chair Shana Broussard and Commissioner Ellen Weintraub, disagreed, continuing the investigation required four supportive votes. A third GOP commissioner recused himself and an Independent commissioner was absent.
"Now it's up to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hold Trump accountable and make clear that no one is above the law," said Paul S. Ryan, vice president for policy and litigation at the pro-democracy group Common Cause, in a statement. "The clock is ticking; a five-year statute of limitations for Trump's campaign finance crimes gives the DOJ only five more months to prosecute these crimes."
On January 22, 2018, Common Cause filed complaints with the DOJ and FEC alleging that the payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was an unreported and illegal in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign. Following public statements from Cohen, the group amended its complaints that March.
"The FEC's nonpartisan career staff attorneys recommended that the commission find reason to believe that Trump, his campaign committee, and the Trump Organization committed the violations alleged in Common Cause's complaints," Ryan noted. He charged that the GOP commissioners' decision to not hold the ex-president accountable for "blatantly and intentionally" violating federal campaign finance law "is just the latest display of dysfunction at the FEC."
"The Senate must pass the For the People Act, which includes provisions to significantly restructure the agency so it can do its job for the American people and enforce the law, in addition to including many tried and tested solutions to hold power accountable and make democracy work for everyone," he said, referencing a bill of popular pro-democracy reforms the House passed in March.
While Trump welcomed the FEC's decision in what he described as a "phony case," Ryan was far from alone in denouncing it.
"To end corrupt partisan decisions by the FEC on enforcement of campaign laws, we need the reforms in the For the People Act," Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), lead sponsor of the upper chamber's version of the bill, declared Friday.
"There is ample evidence in the record to support the finding that Trump and the committee knew of, and nonetheless accepted, the illegal contributions at issue here," Broussard and Weintraub said in a statement Thursday.
"To conclude that a payment, made 13 days before Election Day to hush up a suddenly newsworthy 10-year-old story, was not campaign-related, without so much as conducting an investigation, defies reality," the pair said. "But putting that aside, Cohen testified under oath that he made the payment for the principal purpose of influencing the election. This more than satisfies the commission's 'reason to believe' standard to authorize an investigation."
Cohen--who served time in prison after being convicted of campaign finance violations, lying to Congress, making false statements, and tax evasion--admitted to making hush-money payments during the 2016 campaign to Daniels and another woman who say they had affairs with Trump, which the former president denies. In 2019, Cohen submitted to Congress a copy of a check Trump wrote from his personal bank account that the former fixer claimed was a reimbursement for paying off Daniels.
"The hush-money payment was done at the direction of and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump," Cohen said in a statement to the New York Times after the commission dropped the case. "Like me, Trump should have been found guilty. How the FEC committee could rule any other way is confounding."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy