Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee violated campaign finance law by failing to disclose payments for a dossier on Donald Trump, according to a complaint filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.
The complaint from the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center said the Democrats effectively hid the payments from public scrutiny, contrary to the requirements of federal law. By law, campaign and party committees must disclose the reason money is spent and its recipient.
“By filing misleading reports, the DNC and Clinton campaign undermined the vital public information role of campaign disclosures,” said Adav Noti, senior director of trial litigation and strategy at CLC and a former FEC official. “Voters need campaign disclosure laws to be enforced so they can hold candidates accountable for how they raise and spend money. The FEC must investigate this apparent violation and take appropriate action.”
Media reports on Tuesday alleged that a lawyer for the Clinton campaign hired Fusion GPS to investigate Mr. Trump in April 2016. The private research firm reportedly hired Christopher Steele, a former British spy with ties to the FBI, to conduct the opposition research, and he compiled a dossier containing allegations about Mr. Trump’s connections to Russia.
Poster Comment:
The Clintons, Comey and Mueller should be arraigned on charges of crimes against the state. This situation is incestuously criminal. These three should NOT be running around loose!
#1: misterwhite To: IbJensen (#0)
My guess is that the campaign DID disclose the $9 million paid to their lawyer (or Fusion GPS) for "opposition research".
But if people are looking for a $9 million payment to Christopher Steele for "compiling a fake dossier on Trump with connections to Russia" -- they ain't gonna find one.
misterwhite posted on 2017-10-26 09:46:39 Reply Private Reply
#2: Tooconservative To: IbJensen (#0)
If only we could get a bloodthirsty independent prosecutor appointed who would Lock Her Up.
It doesn't sit right with me that the Xlintons just waltz away from their life of crime into the sunset.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-10-26 10:29:35 Reply Private Reply
#3: Tooconservative To: misterwhite (#1)
I've seen good reporting that they specifically avoided the law by funneling payment through the lawyer.
The lawyer can be charged for this. So can Xlinton and the campaign managers. It is plainly a violation of federal election laws.
An independent prosecutor could use this to leverage a lot more info out of the Xlintons and their underlings.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-10-26 10:31:19 Reply Private Reply
#4: misterwhite To: Tooconservative (#3)
Charged with what? He will claim he hired Fusion GPS to do opposition research. Nothing illegal about that.
Fusion GPS will then claim they hired Christopher Steele to see if there was any Trump-Russia connection.
Steele produced a 35-page series of memos of questionable veracity. Hillary and the Democrats and the DNC and the MSM (and the FBI?) chose to believe them. THEY didn't claim these things. The report did.
misterwhite posted on 2017-10-26 11:34:50 Reply Private Reply
#5: Tooconservative To: misterwhite (#4)
You're wrong. It is illegal to do this under federal law. I saw a lawyer on TV explaining how specific federal law is on this. It isn't just some regulation or ethical rule, it's black-letter law.
The question is whether the GOP will have the guts to (finally) go for the throat.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-10-26 11:45:58 Reply Private Reply
#6: misterwhite To: Tooconservative (#5)
So Donald Trump Jr. violated federal law by meeting with the Russian lawyer?
misterwhite posted on 2017-10-26 12:05:05 Reply Private Reply
#7: Tooconservative To: misterwhite (#6)
Not at all. He paid nothing, received nothing.
Hiding the payments for oppo research is what is illegal, specifically trying to hide behind your lawyer to do it. And that is what Xlinton did. And it's much worse to pay or strike a deal with a foreign entity for such info.
Trump Junior did none of things that we know the Xlinton gang did.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-10-26 12:09:14 Reply Private Reply
#8: misterwhite To: Tooconservative (#7)
Correct. But he was there to solicit that information:
11 CFR 110.20(g) Solicitation, acceptance, or receipt of contributions and donations from foreign nationals.
No person shall knowingly solicit, accept, or receive from from from a foreign national any contribution or donation prohibited by paragraphs (b) through (d) of this section.
That's assuming you're going to insist that opposition research is a "contribution".
misterwhite posted on 2017-10-26 12:52:05 Reply Private Reply
#9: Tooconservative To: misterwhite (#8)
But Trump Jong-Un didn't solicit anything.
He was offered information which was not produced and it is clear this was just a lure to try to open a back channel on Russian sanctions, nothing more. It isn't even clear that Natasha had any clearance or authorization to conduct this meeting or to offer anything. AFAIK, she was operating on her own.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-10-26 13:04:11 Reply Private Reply
#10: Tooconservative To: misterwhite (#8)
HotAir: Russian who met with Trump Jr. had shared info with Kremlin (and Trump Jr described it on Hannity)
A lot more detail of just what she was offering, that it had already been given to Dana Rohrbacher as well.
Tooconservative posted on 2017-10-27 19:38:41 Reply Private Reply