In order to help Trump successfully run for the us of the United States, a media company in the United States once paid a "gag fee" in 2016 to silence an actress who claimed to have had sex with Trump. According to the US "politics" website, the media company recently agreed to pay a settlement fee of $187,500 to the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) to solve the "campaign black money" case that was sued by the US federal prosecutors for allegedly illegally assisting in the election.
Karen McDough
The company involved was American Media Inc (AMI), which owns the conservative tabloid National Enquirer, also known as A360 Media LLC, and the actress who claimed to have had sex with Trump, Karen McDogg.
The FEC concluded that by paying McDougher $150,000, the media company waived her right to speak out in the media about her relationship with Trump, which constituted an illegal corporate donation to Trump's campaign under U.S. campaign funding regulations.
American Media Inc. and its former head, David Pecker, initially argued through lawyers that their role in the deal with McDough was only that of a journalist. In 2018, however, the company and Peckel reached a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in New York. This makes it clear that the practice of paying the "gag fee" is precisely to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Trump and McDough
An earlier legal analysis by the FEC said the available information supported the conclusion that the company paid a "gag fee" that constituted an "in-kind donation" to Trump and his campaign. There is reason to believe that this breach was deliberately committed with the knowledge of AMI and Peckel.
The FEC also concluded that AMI and Peckel coordinated the matter with Trump's campaign because they got in touch with Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, who assured AMI that Expenses related to McDough would be reimbursed by Trump.
Cohen admitted in 2018 that he orchestrated these illegal campaign contributions related to the payment of "gag fees," but Trump denied he had contact with McDough.
McDough
The Common Cause group, which filed the lawsuit over the deal, said the FEC's settlement with Peckel and AMI underscores the fact that Trump himself has never been punished for paying McDougher a "gag fee" and similar behavior related to adult film actress Stomi Daniels.
Paul Ryan, the group's vice president of policy and litigation, said: "Michael Cohen has been jailed for these violations and AMI has also been fined, but the former president has not been held accountable and the U.S. Department of Justice must file a lawsuit against this illegal campaign funding plot orchestrated by Trump by August." ”
The FEC considered taking action against Trump, his campaign team and the Trump Organization, but Republicans who work at the FEC blocked such action, saying "further addressing these issues is not the best use of institutional resources."