Everything has an end. Also the affair surrounding Trump’s hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels (42). On Thursday, the Federal Election Commission announced that it was closing its investigation into whether the ex-president violated the electoral law by paying hush money by his attorney at the time, Michael Cohen (54), before the US election in 2016.
According to a “New York Times” research, the commission dropped the case against Trump at a meeting in February – but not because they would have agreed: The non-partisan commission voted in a draw to continue the investigation.
Michael Cohen, who broke with Trump and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018, among other things for illegal campaign funding, criticized the decision. “The hush money payment was made on instructions and in favor of Donald J. Trump,” said Cohen of the “New York Times”. “Like me, Trump should have been found guilty. It is confusing that the Federal Election Commission can decide differently. “
Republicans find investigation a waste of time
Trump is said to have instructed Cohen shortly before the presidential election to pay Daniels 130,000 US dollars so that she would not unpack about her affair with the president. The payment, which was “well above the president’s legal limit,” does not appear in Trump’s campaign financial reports.
“There is ample evidence in the files to support the finding that Trump (…) knew about the illegal payments and still accepted them,” write two Democrats involved in the election commission. They criticize their Republican colleagues for dropping the investigation. “To conclude that a payment made 13 days prior to the election to cover up a relevant ten-year-old story would not be campaign-relevant without even conducting an investigation is wrong.”
Two Republican members of the commission also made public statements. In their statement it says that with Cohen’s punishment, the hush money case was already closed. Further investigation is a waste of time. (kin)