The US Federal Election Commission (FEC) ended its investigation into allegations that Donald Trump violated election laws in 2016, when his lawyer paid for pornstar Stormy Daniels’ silence. As a result, the former president and members of his campaign in 2016 will not be punished for this case.
Michael Cohen, a former personal attorney for Trump, pleaded guilty in 2018 to breaking campaign laws by making a $ 130,000 payment to Daniels in return for his silence. The actress threatened to divulge details of her relationship with the Republican.
Cohen said the payment was intended to avoid problems for Trump’s presidential campaign. For this reason, Democrats and several organizations accused Republicans of violating electoral rules, considering this payment to be, in practice, an illegal election donation. Since individual donations were capped at $ 2,700 that year, Cohen broke the law.
The lawyer was arrested for lying to Congress and convicted of violating election laws and tax evasion. Trump has never been punished for this matter. Although he denies any involvement with the actress, the former president confirmed that he reimbursed Cohen for the amount.
Daniels’ payment for silence was revealed by the US press in early 2018. After that, the actress made statements about her relationship with Trump in interviews and in a book. The former president denies having been involved with her.
The FEC is chaired by six advisers. There are currently three Republicans and three Democrats. Further analysis of the case required at least four votes. Without Republican support, the process was put on hold.
Republicans who are part of the FEC say the case has already been investigated in other federal courts and that its analysis in committee would be redundant and a waste of resources. Democratic officials said there was ample evidence the former president received irregular contributions and called for further investigations.
Trump celebrated the decision to end the process. “I am grateful to the committee for the decision, which closes this chapter on fake news,” he said in a statement. Cohen criticized the measure. “The bribe payment was made for the benefit of Donald J. Trump. Like me, Trump should be found guilty,” he wrote on Twitter.